Our Love Is Heaven
by BeautifulGinger
Summary: Elena Gilbert has recently graduated from university. She ends up being saved one night from disaster by a misterious blue eyed man. The mystery fades when they become friends, but what happens when the girl falls in love with her saviour and their world comes crushing down around them? How to fight for what one wants and how to hold tightly to the person you deeply love? AU/AH
1. Prologue

_******Disclaimer: This story is for enjoyment purposes only. None of the characters involved in the story are mine.**_

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AN: This is the first story I publish here. It's not the first one that I write tho. I've had a hard time deciding how to start this story out and I've written the prologue several times but I finally settled on this one. I've spent a lot of hours on this story and I really hope you'll love it. Here it is! Share your thoughts after reading and drop a review. I'll love to hear your opinion.

_**We've been through it all, but our love has remained pure...**_

After what seemed ages, she made a maneuver to get off the bed and headed to the door. With small steps, she walked outside and closed the door behind her, before she leaned down and sat on the stairs, on the porch of her house in Mystic Falls. It was the place where she'd come whenever she wanted to be alone, whenever she had some free time. No one lived there anymore, but she never even thought about selling the place. It was the house of her childhood, the place who kept all the beautiful memories of her and her parents, from when they were still alive.

She let her head rest against the pile of the house, and sighed. Her eyes flew around and she pictured herself as a little girl playing with a few dolls on a blanket, in the green grass, right in front of the same house. The parents of the girl were sitting on the swing from the porch, smiling and appearing utterly happy with their simple life, with their child who was now running towards them, extending her little arms to her dad to pick her up and settle her between them. She would let her tiny hand run across her mother's stomach and giggle when she would feel the vibrating kicks. Her head would snap up and smile at her mother and she would receive a hug and a warm kiss on the forehead.

"Mommy, when will you bring my brother?", she asked daily, too excited about getting a little brother.

"Really soon", her mother answered her, and the girl's face would be lightened up by a big smile, before she would frown and pout out her lower lip. "What's wrong sweetie?"

"But then, will you still love me?", she questioned.

"Of course. I'll love you more and more each and every day. My love for you will never end", her mother traced a finger on her forehead and she won't frown anymore.

The years passed in front of her and now she was saw the same girl, now a few years older, in the same place, running after a little boy before she would lift him in her arms and press a kiss on his forehead. He would try to run away from her and hide under the swing on the porch or behind the house, just so he could win the game. She would find him and take him inside and into their room and she would tuck him in like she did in the last two years. Because that was all she wanted as a little girl; a little brother who would be with her forever and would take care of her when she would need him, a brother who she could share her thoughts with, a brother who could understand her in a way that her parents couldn't.

Her mind allowed her to continue the movie of her memories and she had found that the little girl was now a beautiful teenager. She was the captain of the cheerleaders and the most popular girl in the high school. She had a lot of friends to spend her time with and she also had as boyfriend the most popular guy in the high school, the captain of the football team, the guy who made all the girls root for him. But he was hers and she thought he would be hers forever. Back then, she had had no idea what real life was, she'd never been through a hard time, she'd never found out what the pain was. She used to think that if she loved the guy she would get to marry him, have children and spend the rest of her life with him.

It wasn't until that night when her stubborn self left her house to go to a party in the woods. She should've listened to her parents when they said family night was more important than a party. She used to go to parties every weekend and they insisted she should stay home for when her aunt will come visit. Instead of listening to them, she walked out and into the woods, partied with her friends and got drunk, never knowing that the consequences of her actions would be more dramatic than she could ever imagine, never knowing that that night was the last night that she would be able to spend with her parents.

After their death, everything changed in her life. She suddenly didn't feel like living anymore, she didn't feel like her dreams might come true and she didn't feel like she would ever get a family of her own. She tried to move on though and she moved to New York, she and her brother being in their aunt's custody until they would be 18. Life didn't matter for her anymore, she was only alive for her brother, who needed her through it all.

That was the story of her happy life as a little girl, who turned into a horrible one when she was a teenager. Never once had she thought that life would ridiculously grow on her and surprise her in her most depressing period of her pathetic existence.


	2. Funhouse

AN: I can't tell if you liked the prologue or not since I haven't gotten reviews on it. I'm publishing the first chapter hoping that you guys will review so I can know if you like the story or not. I plan on finishing it anyway and I really want to hear your thoughts about it. I want to thank my amazing beta Britt for helping me out. You rock! Anyway, enjoy the chapter and review.

_**This used to be a Funhouse**_

_**But now it's full of evil clowns**_

_**It's time to start the countdown**_

_**I'm gonna burn it down, down, down**_

_**I'm gonna burn it down**_

"I think that everyone gets a chance to be remarkable. It's all about believing in yourself and the moment, to trust that you can do something and then you really can. That's how it works with college too. I never thought I'd actually graduate with straights A's. Who am I fooling? I never thought I'd graduate at all," Elena Gilbert chuckled and took a big breath, "but it's been my dream to be a writer ever since I was a little girl and I've worked hard to get here." Her hands were shaking as she gripped the podium. "Columbia!," she scoffed, "Who would've thought? This is a college for the rich and I'm not one of them. When I found my acceptance letter in the mailbox, I started to laugh out loud and think it was a mistake or there was another Elena Gilbert somewhere and the letter was for her. The four years spent here were more than enough to turn some of us into great writers. I can't speak for myself but I can say that some of my classmates were born with a talent for writing and Columbia only pushed them harder and gave them the courage to actually write on their own. I want to thank all of our professors. You've all been great examples for us to follow and one day I hope to be as talented as you are. Mr. Fitz, thank you for being a brilliant Dean and for sharing all your secrets with us. I'm sure you are a very important person not only in my heart, but in everyone's heart. Ultimately, I want to thank of all my classmates for being supportive throughout the years. I wish you only the best. Thank you!"

After she finally got through her speech, a single tear rolled on her cheek, while a light smile on graced her lips.

A few minutes later, Elena was surrounded by her now former professors and classmates and they all chatted about what they were going to do from there. She had no idea what she would do, so she just listened to the others talking excitedly about the novels they were writing, how they would be famous and they would remember their professors and mentors when they finally published a book. Elena just listened and smiled from time to time.

"Elena," Mr. Fitz approached her and put an arm around her shoulders, walking with her on a path through the yard, "Congratulations about your awards. I always knew you were the best one out there. You made me proud, kiddo," he smiled warmly and hugged his former student.

"Thank you, sir. It's an honor. I never thought I'll end up here, between all these great teachers and especially not with you," Elena declared in a voice that implied her respect and admiration for the old man standing in front of her.

"Oh, Elena, you know I've always considered you like my daughter," the man confessed. She knew that he had lost his daughter. It had been all over the Internet, just like when she had lost her parents. They were bound by a common pain; the pain of losing someone close to you; the pain of losing someone you wished would be forever by your side.

"I know that and I'll always carry you in my heart," Elena let herself shed some tears before she hugged Mr. Fitz again and turned around to see her aunt and her brother coming towards her. "Excuse me, Mr. Fitz," she said and walked over to her family.

"Oh God, Elena, I can happily die now that I saw you graduate college as valedictorian. I'm so proud of you!" Jenna exclaimed happy and pulled Elena into a tight hug before she could notice the look on her niece's face. She knew how much she hated for her to talk like that. Why would she even say she could die now? That made Elena feel a heavy node in her throat and a burning desire to burst out crying and not stop until her tears were flat out.

"Thanks, Jenna. I wouldn't have made it without you," she broke away from the hug and looked over to her brother, who was clearly interested in looking at the girls walking around them. She stepped closer to him and playfully slapped him over the head. "Hey! Don't even try something. They're my age and you're not my age," Elena shrugged apologetically.

"You're such a party pooper, Elena!" her brother complained and before she could say anything else, he raised an eyebrow and pulled her into a bear hug, leaving her almost breathless. "Congratulations, sis. You've made it through. Now you can enjoy the beauty of life," Jeremy jabbered and stroked Elena's back.

"Right. Good point well made. You're choking me," she managed to breathe out and escape from Jeremy's grasp. He never was attentive to anyone, not even to her and he was probably acting like this because Jenna gave him 10 dollars to make her happy and for him to refill his stash.

"Where are we celebrating?" Jenna hurried to ask in their walk to the car she'd parked in one of the free spots.

"Dylan is coming for me in a couple of hours," Elena shrugged indifferently, "but we can have dinner together tomorrow. Is that ok with you Jenna?" she asked, feeling a bit of remorse that she couldn't spend her evening with her aunt and brother. He would probably be locked up in his room anyways, with his earbuds in while drawing another one of his sketches.

"Of course it's okay. You go and have fun. You need that after all the hard work you've managed to do. And you've finally graduated. I'm still so confused about how fast the time went by. I remember only four years ago you were reading that letter from Columbia, freaking out about it and now, look at you, you're a real writer," Jenna motioned towards her niece and kissed her forehead, before wiping away a few tears that streamed from her hazy eyes.

"Well, I'm not a_ real _writer. I won't be until I publish a novel. I have to work some more until that point. In the meantime, I have to find a job. I can't waste my time doing nothing and walking around with no money," she sighed and opened the car door, climbing in next to Jenna, who was really keen on driving herself.

"Elena, you know you can always ask me for money. Your parents left you and Jeremy enough to live decently and more than just that," Jenna started to tell that same story once again while pulling the car out of the parking lot but Elena just shook her head and ran a hand through her locks.

"It doesn't work like that and you know it. That money is for Jeremy, for college this fall. I can't take that away from him," Elena spoke, knowing that Jeremy won't hear her with his headphones in. She raised a hand to silence Jenna before she could even say anything else. "No, you know I'm right. Besides, I'm the grown up between the two of us. I have to work. I will work. It's not in my bones to walk around doing nothing and spending my parent's money on expensive clothes or shoes because I am spoiled. Those times are long gone," she shook her head at the memory of who she had been just a few years ago. A spoiled girl who cared about being popular and looking good, never understanding the others around her.

"Okay, I won't bring this up again," Jenna nodded, a sign that she understood Elena's reasons. Somewhere along the way, her niece changed from being that shallow girl to a responsible adult who was now ready to begin her own life, to work hard to achieve what she had always wanted; being a successful writer.

A few years ago, when Elena was just 17, Jenna had thought that this girl who she loved profoundly like she was her own, would never do something good with her life. She had thought that she would end up marrying a rich guy who would be able to satisfy all of her needs. After Elena witnessed her parents's death, she thought she would never get over the shock. She shuddered thinking about the first time she found Elena with an empty bottle of pills next to her bed and Elena unconsciously lying on the matress. Or the time she had ended up in hospital because she'd cut her veins and tried to bleed herself to death. When it happened again and again, Jenna decided it was time to do something or she would lose her too and she couldn't bear to lose someone else after losing her sister, so she took her to a shrink where she was put on meds for half a year.

Never once had she thought that she would recover and she would go on to college. And not just any college; it was freaking Columbia she graduated from as the valedictorian. And now her little girl wanted to start a life on her own, maybe get married soon and a few years later she would have her own little girl.

Twenty minutes later, Elena was in her room, tossing clothes from her closet across the room, annoyed that she couldn't find something perfect to wear. She _had_ to look good tonight. It was the night of her graduation and she would see Dylan and some of her other friends. She wanted to look good. Damn, she would look good. After looking through all her clothes for another hour, she decided on a strapeless black dress which accentuated the perfect curves of her toned body. She hit the gym at least twice a week, on the days she had less classes and the result was pretty obvious when she looked in the mirror. Elena knew she was beautiful. Boys have always told her that, they've always tried to jump on her, even before college. But the fact remained that she had a boyfriend and she loved him.

It wasn't that kind of love she thought she'd felt for Tyler in highschool or for Matt until two years ago. It was a pure love, which brought up to the surface things she didn't think she had in her. The sex was good, of course, but her relationship with Dylan didn't revolve around just that. They were friends above all and they could talk to each other about anything. He understood her and knew how hard it must've been on her when she'd lost her parents. His mom died while giving birth and the guilt over her death never let him be as happy as he wanted to be.

Elena walked over to the mirror and tied her hair up in a bun, before she put on some makeup. Some foundation and a mascara would do the job. She didn't have to look like she just walked out of Photoshop to be beautiful. She loved simple. It had always been her thing. Scratch that; _now_ it was her thing.

"Elena! Dylan's here," Jenna announced from downstaires, like she'd always done. She just had to do that every single time and it made Elena shake her head and chuckle about it.

"Coming!" she yelled back and slipped on her black heels. She probably looked like the Black Widow right now, but at least she was a hot Black Widow. After making sure she was completely ready for a fun night, Elena walked down the stairs to be welcomed by the familiar face of Dylan and a big smile on his face.

"Are you competing for Miss America?" he walked over to her and captured her lips, slowly pulling away a few moments later and smiled warmly at her, before grabbing her hand and heading towards the door.

"Bye Jenna," they both spoke but they never got an answer from her. She was probably in the kitchen, professionally failing at cooking but still trying because she was stubborn like that. Not that Elena knew how to cook. She was an even bigger disaster in a kitchen. She would probably set herself on fire while trying to ignite the gas burner. If catering didn't exist, they would probably starve to death.

"Was that meant to be a compliment?" Elena raised her eyebrows and looked over to Dylan, only to receive a roll of his beautiful green eyes. "Okay, okay," she sighed, knowing that it was in fact a compliment, but she only wanted to hear him say it again. She looked around and spotted his black Volvo parked right in front of her house. "Come on now, does this mean I have to drink alone?" Elena asked.

"No, I'll leave the car in the parking lot of the bar. I can't let my girlfriend celebrate on her own, now can I?" he shook his head and opened the door for her.

On their way to the Silver Moon Bar they talked about Elena's plans for the future. She told him about the novel she was writing but she didn't want to reveal anything else on that matter. She wasn't _that_ confident in her talent to say it would be a success, which meant that she'd have to wait and see when she published it, if she would ever do that. She also told him about wanting to get a job and how she would love to work as a journalist at a paper or at a publishing company but not as a seller or anything else that didn't include doing what she loved to do.

Dylan pulled the car to a stop in the parking lot and locked it before grabbing Elena's hand and entering the bar they used to go to so often. She was welcomed with a group hug from her friends, all of them congratulating her and jokingly told her, the guest of honor, that drinks were on her now that she had a degree.

"Oh God, I've missed you so much. I haven't seen you in two days. I have a lot to tell you," Caroline squeaked and pulled Elena into a bear hug, leaving her breathless and looking over to her other best friend just to see her shaking her head and shrugging her shoulders.

"I've missed you too," Elena shrugged out from the blonde's embrace and narrowed her eyes. "Hm, new chapter of Caroline's Adventures?" She pulled a tiny smile, inwardly rolling her eyes at her friend. She loved Caroline, she did. She was her best friend ever since she was 5 years old. She knew her like she knew herself, or even better, because for a while she had no idea who she was. But sometimes she was just too much to deal with. She talked too much, everyone could agree with that. And maybe they could stand it if she wouldn't talk mostly about herself or fashion or stupid random things.

"Just wait and see what she's got for you. You'll be amazed and shocked at the same time. That's the Caroline effect," Bonnie winked and sipped from a glass.

"Alex, tequila! Sit down," Caroline ordered and turned around on her stool to face Elena, taking a deep breath and began to tell her what happened in her life in the two days they haven't spoken to each other. "So, I met this guy. His name is Stefan Salvatore, he's smoking hot, his eyes are green, we have a lot of things in common. And he's filthy rich. His father is the one Giuseppe Salvatore, the owner of _that_ massive Forbes 500 company. He's good in the sack and he's going to be here any minute," Caroline chattered like there was no tomorrow. Elena could practically see the wheels turning in her head.

"Hold on. Press pause," Elena raised a hand to stop her friend from talking while she swallowed her first shot of tequila and ate some salty lemon. "How do you know so much about him if you have just met him. Did you run an investigation on him?" she smirked and shook her head, astonished by Caroline's talent of saying so much in such a short time.

"She told me not but I'm not sure if I can trust her. You should've seen her yesterday. She was like a ticking bomb. One word and she was gonna explode and throw glitter all around," Bonnie deadpanned and sipped more from her cocktail.

"Shut up, Bonnie. That's not true. You'll see when he gets here," the blonde stucked her tongue out at her friend who was now rolling her eyes ironically.

"But how do you know he's good in the sack?" Elena narrowed her eyes, suddenly not wanting to hear the answer. When she wanted something, Caroline got that something, no matter what. And if she really had wanted to slept with that guy, then she must've slept with him.

"I've slept with him," Bonnie choked on her drink and her eyes went wide when her blonde friend spoke. "Oh, don't be judgy. It was worth it," Caroline rolled her eyes sarcastically. Between the three girls, Bonnie was the one who was still keeping a low profile. In highschool she was the kind of girl who dated a guy without sleeping with him now she was almost the same, but finally the sex would come now. Her friends thought that that would change as she got older but she hadn't changed at all. She was still the simple Bonnie who they loved and would love no matter what.

"Huh," it was the only word that escaped Elena's mouth. She didn't have to say anything else, it's not like she hasn't done it before. She had no right to judge her friend and this was a totally normal thing for Caroline.

All of a sudden, the blonde jumped from her stool and squeaked at the view of a tall brown-haired guy with green eyes, who was now walking towards her. "Hi baby!" she almost yelled and threw her arms around Stefan's neck and her lips captured his and allowed hers to feel every inch of his.

"Hi," Stefan whispered against her lips and turned around to look at the people watching them, his arm around Caroline's shoulders, pulling her to him. "Hi guys. I'm Stefan," he smiled and found a free stool next to Caroline's.

"Hi, I'm Elena. It's nice to meet you," she extended her hand and shook his, smiling at him. She had to admit, Caroline's tastes in men were a little bit too... perfect. "I've heard a lot about you," she added and flashed a smile to her friend.

"I hope only good things," Stefan chuckled and pecked Caroline on the lips before looking to the other girl next to Elena. "You must be Bonnie."

"That's me. Nice to meet you. Now, excuse me but I must go," she announced and got up from the stool, taking her purse and stopping in front of the girls. "I'll talk to you tomorrow. I'm so tired, I'm sorry I cannot stay longer," she excused herself again and after the girls nodded she left.

"What's up with her?" Caroline looked at Elena and furrowed her eyebrows, waiting for an answer about what was wrong with her friend.

"I have no idea. She may just be tired," Elena shrugged her shoulders and her gaze wandered to Stefan. "Stefan, this is my boyfriend Dylan," she looked behind her at the man who had his hands on her hip, squeezing gently at it.

"Hi. Good to know I'm not the only guy in the group anymore," Dylan shook Stefan's hand and turned to the bartender. "Alex, two Blue Moons, please".

"Seems so," Stefan nodded slightly and accepted the beer from Dylan.

"So, where did the two of you meet?" Elena questioned the new couple while sipping from her new drink. She was pretty sure it was because of one of Caroline's tricks but she couldn't tell anything until she'd hear each version of the first meeting.

"Well, I had this huge problem. I had to go to a party and my designer was out of town. I heard about this girl who was an incredible designer and I thought I'd give it a shot. So I showed up at Caroline's office and told her my name and practically forced her to give me a good suit. But she didn't want to," Stefan began the story.

"Because I wanted to have fun and you were able to give me that," Caroline rolled her eyes and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Whatever. I asked why and she told me she will do it only if she could be my date at the party. I told her that's impossible and she said that nothing's impossible as long as you want something bad enough. I liked her confidence. She insisted on it even though I said no but if I didn't go her way, she wouldn't have given me a good suit and I wasn't in the place to bargain. Pretty much that's it," Stefan concluded.

"And we did have fun. Wouldn't you have regretted if you didn't take me to that party? It would've been a waste of a sex night," she giggled and winked at him playfully.

"God, Caroline, you're so forwarded," Stefan complained about her talking about their sex life. Well, what they had couldn't be a real sex life, right? They were together for two days and they only had sex once. Or more than once?

"Oh, please. They both know I'm a perverted little thing," Caroline pointed to both Elena and her boyfriend.

Of course Elena knew how the wheels in her friend's head spinned. She was very smart but when it came down to guys, it was like her brain had been chopped in tiny little pieces and she could only think with her body and very little with her heart because if she cared about the guy she had sex with. But as she could see, Caroline genuinely liked Stefan and cared about him and he obviously seemed to be a very nice person who wouldn't hurt her. They looked good together. She was sure they would make a great couple.

A few hours later, Caroline and Stefan took off, leaving her and Dylan alone. Moments later after they left, Dylan told her he had to go home because his best friend was coming into town tonight. She insisted on staying there at the bar for a little bit more and even when he'd tried to convince her to go home, she told him it was fine and she'll stay for a few more drinks and relaxation time. He didn't leave too long after she told him she wanted to stay. No one could deal with her stubborness and actually, no one who knew her tried to.

"Well, hello, pretty thing," a drunk man approached her and rested his arm on the counter next to her. The smell of alcohol invaded her nostrils and she wanted to tell him to step aside but she didn't need trouble so she just focused her attention on everyone else inside the bar and not on the suspicious guy next to her. After a moment, he spoke again. "I've seen you around multiple times but you were never alone. Now you are."

His words made her shiver and she wondered what this guy wanted from her. Clearly, it couldn't be something good. Trying to avoid him, she took her purse and started to walk to the bathroom. Once inside, she breathed out, looking in the mirror and splashing her face with some water, only to notice he had snuck up after her.

"You shouldn't run away," the guy stepped closer to her and with a sudden movement, he pinned her to the wall.

"Get off me!" Elena yelled and tried to shrug off his grasp but his arms were clenched tightly against hers and it was impossible for her to escape. "Leave me alone! Please!" she started to scream but it seemed like he didn't care about that. With the loud music out there, she was pretty sure no one would hear her. Suddenly, she regretted she didn't leave with Dylan.

"But we could have such a nice time together," the man spoke and his smirk was not only gross, it made Elena want to rip his head off.

"I said let me go. I don't want you to touch me!" she hissed and kicked him with her leg but it seemed like he didn't even feel her kick or if he did, he tried to hold his ground.

"But I want to touch you and I will. I will touch every single part of you," he started to press wet kisses on her neck and she started crying, desperately looking for help.

The sound of a door closing made Elena's eyes snap up and look around. Maybe there was a person around who could help her get rid of this guy. She was sure that if she didn't think of something quick, she would end up being raped.

"I think the lady said to back off," a voice like velvet came from behind the man and he stopped kissing her to turn around and see who had spoken but he didn't let her go. She saw a tall man standing behind the drunk guy. His hair was dark and all his clothes were black, the only stain of colour on him were his bright blue eyes.

"And who the hell are you to tell me what to do?" the drunk man asked, spitting out the words grossly.

"I suggest you to back off. Now!" the other man warned him, raising an eyebrow at him, almost enticing him to find out what would happen if he didn't step away from her. When the drunk guy didn't move, the stranger pulled him off Elena and with little effort, slammed him against the opposite wall. Knowing he had no chance with him, the drunk ran out of the bathroom, leaving a crying Elena behind him.

This guy was her saviour. If it hadn't been for him, she would have ended up on the bathroom floor with her dressed torn up and with the drunk guy looming above her.

"Are you okay?" the soft voice of her saviour echoed in her ears, though she was sure he had only asked once. She was in shock.

Without thinking, she ran into the guy's arms and clenched her hands on his leather jacket. "T-thank you," she managed to choke out while her tears wet her face and her mascara stretched down her cheeks.


	3. Wide Awake

_****_AN: Wow! I didn't think I'd update so soon but since you requested me chapter 2 and I had it ready, I thought I'd post it. This wouldn't have been possible without my brilliant beta, so I want to thank her and you should all be grateful to her too. Enjoy this chapter and review! Those always inspire me to write more and upload sooner.

_**I'm wide awake**_

_**Yeah, I was in the dark**_

_**I was falling hard**_

_**With an open heart**_

_**I'm wide awake**_

_**How did I read the stars so wrong**_

A few minutes later when she finally stopped sobbing, the man who saved her pulled her out of the bathroom and back to the bar. She looked around, scared that the one who tried to rape her would still be there. With small steps she followed the dark haired man and when he sat on a stool, she finally allowed her legs to rest by sitting next to him.

"It's okay, he's gone now. And I doubt that he's not gonna be back anytime soon," he shrugged and called for the barman. "Two whiskeys. You know which one," he spoke with the same velvety voice from earlier. It was clear he was a regular since the bartender knew his preferences.

"Thank you for saving me. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't have been there," Elena shook her head in disbelief. She still couldn't believe what had just happened. A lot of guys hit on her, yes, but no one, until that night had anyone tried to force themselves on her.

"You've thanked me a thousand times in the last 15 minutes. It's okay. It's all good. You can relax now," he said and she was sure that he noticed how her shoulders were tense so when she finally allowed her body to relax, he smiled.

"I'm sorry. I'm so rude. I'm Elena," she smiled awkwardly. How could she forget her manners? Well, maybe she wouldn't have if she hadn't just been attacked by a drunk man who could have ruined her life forever.

"That's understandable right now. Damon," he shrugged apologetically and handed her a glass of whiskey when Alex put them down on the bar. "It should help. It definitely helps me. Every single time," Damon encouraged her to drink.

Elena lifted the glass to her lips and swallowed a mouthful before placing it back on the counter. She probably should've gone home but she was too scared to go out on the streets by herself. Eventually she would call a taxi and leave but not just yet.

"So, Elena, why were you alone in here with all these drunk guys? I mean, I know it's a good bar and all but there's always lichens around," Damon asked and his gaze fell on her face. Her cheeks were stained with tears and some of her mascara but she didn't seem bothered by this.

"I wasn't alone. I was with my friends and my boyfriend but they left earlier," she explained, running a hand through her hair. All her plans to look beautiful were ruined now. She probably looked like a homeless girl who found some good clothes and wore makeup for the very first time.

"What kind of a boyfriend leaves his girlfriend alone in a bar at midnight?" Damon scoffed resentfully. If she were in his shoes, she would ask the exact same thing. But he didn't know how much of an idiot she was because she didn't want to leave with Dylan. She mentally scolded herself again.

"It's not like that. He told me to leave with him but I wanted to have one more drink. It's not the first time I've been alone here. Though it's the first time something like that happens," Elena finished her drink, lost in her thoughts.

"Hello, are you listening?" Damon waved a hand in front of her eyes, bringing her out of her reverie.

"I'm sorry. What did you say?" Elena raised an eyebrow, suddenly feeling bad for not paying attention to Damon. She was so rude sometimes.

"I said that if I were your boyfriend I wouldn't have listened to you and I would've stayed here if you really wanted to have one more drink. He couldn't have anything important to do at this hour, right?" Damon's brow arched and she thought about it for a second. What if he was right? Why was Dylan's friend more important than her, his girlfriend, and why did he hurry up to go and see him?

She suddenly didn't know what to say to him. His words really made her think about the whole situation. Her head snapped up and she smiled kindly at him.

"You know, Damon, I am really tired. I should get going. Thanks again, I'll never forget what you did for me," Elena looked from her wallet and pulled out a twenty. Damon's hand wandered to hers and took the bill. His hand traveled further to the one little pocket of her dress and crammed it inside.

She followed his movements nervously and felt a shiver running through her body as his hand pushed against her skin when cramming the bill inside her pocket. He didn't have to touch her skin for her to feel that his fingers were soft, that his fingerprints would make any skin tingle under their touch.

"This one's on me. Maybe you'll have the chance to return the favor," he pulled her out of her own head and pointed to the door. "I'll drive you home," he announced and she quickly shook her head.

"No, it's okay. I'll take a cab. You've done enough for one night," Elena nodded her head slightly like agreeing to her own statement.

"Come on, Elena. Let's go," Damon insisted and pulled her out of the bar and faster than she could protest she was standing in front of a black Range Rover and he was opening the door for her.

"I really should take a cab. I live on the other side of town," Elena complained even though she knew she would feel more comfortable with him, her savior, than a strange taxi driver.

"Get in the car," Damon ordered and when she finally decided to give up and get in the car, he closed the door behind her.

A few minutes later, he was driving towards her house while she was giving him directions. Occasionally, her glance wandered to his face and she stared at his soft features. She knew it wasn't a right to do, checking him out. Not only did she have a boyfriend but Damon was a total stranger. Who knew what he planned to do next. Maybe he too was like the guy at the bar. She mentally cursed herself for thinking that poorly about him. He had saved her. How could he be that awful himself? And then she was reminded that no person could ever truly know another. In fact, no person can truly know herself.

There was a time when she didn't know who she was anymore. The first few weeks after her parents' death were some of her darkest. She would spend time locked in her room, looking at pictures of them, only to remind herself that she caused their death. She could never forget how young they were and how much more they had yet to live. And then, one day, she decided to make it easier for Jenna and her brother, to stop them from looking at her and thinking that she was the one responsible for the loss they all suffered. The pills didn't help her. After she swallowed them, she felt like she was going to sleep forever and that felt good. She wouldn't be able to dream about them anymore, she would be able to finally rest. But then Jenna came and found her. Unfortunately, the doctors managed to save her and she was brought home where the familiar memory of her parents haunted her again.

As the pain got more intense day after day, she thought she should end this once and for all. That day should've been her last one and she should've died when she ripped through her veins with a knife, watching the life drain out of her with tears rolling off her cheeks and dropping onto her wounds. It stung but not like the feeling of guilt. Three days later, she woke up in a white room, isolated from the outside world. When Jenna came to see her, she told her she would have to stay there for a few months, that it would be good to her. Her aunt didn't understand that she didn't want anything good for her. She just wanted the peace only death could offer her.

Moments later, the car stopped and she looked around. She was home. She took her purse and turned to Damon whose hands still gripped the wheel, probably waiting for her to get down and leave.

"Thanks. For everything. You're a good guy, really," Elena finally established and she flashed him a smile.

"You're welcome, Elena. But I'm a good guy because you don't know me," he winked and smiled back. "I guess I'll see you around," he concluded and with that, she opened the door and watched him drive off before she walked to the door.

What was that supposed to mean? Of course he was a good guy. He helped her tonight and didn't want anything in exchange, like most people would have. Or maybe he was right about what he said and he only seemed nice because he was a total stranger. She doubted that she would see him around. New York was a big city and it was a once in a million chance they would bump into each other again.

Elena slowly opened the door and snuck inside, walking over to the kitchen. The lights were off but Jenna, who was drinking some water in the corner, scared her. She turned on the lights and narrowed her eyes.

"God, Jenna, are you sleepwalking?" she asked and walked to the fridge, grabbing a bottle of juice.

"Sorry, I didn't think you'd be home so soon," Jenna shrugged apologetically and put the glass down on the counter.

Now she was happy that she had wiped the mascara off her face. What would Jenna have said if she'd seen her like that? She would've had to tell her what happened and that would've only made her worry. And telling would cause drama with Dylan too.

"It's okay. It's not so early. Jenna, it's 2am. Are you okay?" Elena asked, walking closer to her aunt to look at her. She didn't look so good. She was pale and her pupils were dilated.

"Yeah, it's just a headache. It will pass. I just took an Advil. Go to sleep, I'll be up in a few minutes," she explained and smiled softly before waving at her.

The night wasn't as turbid as she thought it would be. After she was tucked in her bed, she immediately fell asleep, letting her mind rest after a tumultuous day and an even more tumultuous night. She allowed herself to sleep in so when she woke up it was 10am. Luckily, she didn't have a full day ahead of her. In fact, she only had plans to hit the gym with Caroline. But it was necessary that she had a good rest. She knew she would need to listen to Caroline's rambling through the entire gym session.

"Elena!" Caroline squealed after seeing her and ran towards her, pulling her into a hug but this time releasing her a few seconds later. "Okay, so tomorrow we're going out," she announced happily.

"Slow down._ We_ are going out?" Elena could only imagine what she was about to say but that didn't stop her from asking.

"Yes. You, me, Stefan and Dylan. Oh, and his asshole brother," Caroline's face twisted when mentioning the word 'brother'. "I don't know why he has to bring him."

"Stefan has a brother?" Elena's brows arched as she asked. How did Caroline not mention that to her earlier? Maybe she forgot. "You didn't tell me anything about that."

"Because there's nothing to say about the man. He's an asshole and I hate him. So I'm not wasting my breath to talk about him, okay?" she snapped and before Elena could say something Caroline raised her hand to silence her. "No, do not ask me about him," she warned her friend.

"Okay, whatever. It's not like I care," Elena scoffed and walked to the treadmill, starting to run like there was no tomorrow.

"What's gotten into you?" Caroline asked as she looked over to Elena to see her working her soul out on the treadmill.

"Nothing. Tell me about you and Stefan. I know you can't wait," she demanded and stopped the treadmill. She sat on an exercise ball and drank from one of the water bottles.

"I thought you'd never ask. So, there's not much going on except that he officially asked me to be his girlfriend and of course I said yes. I'm going to meet his father next week. I'm so excited. I'll be in front of Giuseppe Salvatore, can you imagine?" While Caroline ranted about her love life and the awesomeness of meeting the wealthiest man from New York, Elena's thoughts wandered to Damon and what he had said about Dylan. She began to question again Dylan's hurry to leave last night.

"That's good, yes," she finally responded to her friend who was nervously tapping her fingers on the bouncy ball.

"You sure you're okay, Elena?" Caroline asked again as she threw daggers at her friend, who was totally in her own world instead of gushing over the exciting news.

"Definitely, yeah," she nodded her head and stood up. "Let's go take a shower. We'll go have coffee after," Elena proposed, trying not only to take herself from obsessing over last night but also to satisfy Caroline's thirst of gossiping about everyone and everything.

The day seemed to slip away rather fast, even if she had to listen to Caroline talking about how gorgeous Stefan was, how hot he looked naked, how his kisses made her skin ignite or how good he was in bed. She listened to everything she said and nodded, sometimes smiling and sometimes laughing at how silly her friend could be at times.

When she finally got home it was already dinnertime and she had promised to have dinner with Jenna and Jeremy that night.

"Hey, Jenna," she greeted her aunt who was happily sitting on the couch, watching TV.

"Elena, hey. I ordered pizza and we have beer. It's just the two of us tonight. Jeremy's spending the night at his friend's place trying to finish a project for school," she explained, not looking much at her, but rather excitedly watching her favorite characters on the television.

Elena frowned and shook her head, trying to get Jenna's attention. "There's no project to finish, right?" she finally realized that Jeremy lied to her. It wasn't the first time though, so she should be used to it by now but it seemed like Jenna was always caught up in his web of tricks.

"No, not at all," she nodded and sat on the couch next to her. "So, how have you been lately?"

Jenna shrugged her shoulders. "Fine, I guess. Just doing what I got to do," she said, turning to look at her niece.

"I'm sorry, Jenna. I've been so busy lately with school that I didn't even ask you how are you or how everything is going at work," Elena apologized. It was the first time since she lived with Jenna they didn't have time to talk or go out together. It was unusual but she knew it was going to happen more often once she got a job.

"It's okay, Elena. I know. It's over now. Work is fine. I was just promoted last week. Now I'm actually a nurse," she said proudly and smiled widely.

"Oh, that's so great! Congratulations," Elena leaned forward and hugged Jenna, squeezing her back softly. "You should've told me, we could've celebrated," she said, winking playfully.

"I figured it wasn't time for celebrating, you know..." she didn't finish her sentence. Elena already knew what she was going to say. It wasn't time for celebrating because just the last week was her parents' death anniversary. It marked five years since they died because of how stupid she had been. Her face dropped to the ground as she nodded slightly in agreement to Jenna's words.

"I understand. Anyway, I've wanted to talk to you about a job. You know I told you I want to get one. Well, I've applied for one and I'm waiting for a response but if I get it, I'll have to get a place of my own. The job is in Brooklyn," Elena explained and she hoped Jenna wouldn't mind if she moved out on her own. It would be good for her. She was 22 and she was ready to start her own life. Get a job, earn money, live alone, be promoted, finish her book, publish it, be recognized for her work. That was the course she wanted her life to take.

"Oh..." her aunt struggled for words but she seemed to be at a loss. "Well, that's good for you, Elena. It's time to do something for you and I'm sure this will be a good thing. However this will work out for you, you'll always have your room here waiting for you," Jenna smiled but it didn't seem real. She knew her aunt was happy for her, she always would be. It was probably the fact that they were also talking about her parent's death that made her upset or the fact that she was used living with Elena.

"I haven't been hired yet, Jenna, so I'm not leaving just yet," Elena placed a hand on Jenna's. "I will always be here for you when you need me. And as for my brother, he can stay with me sometimes," she smiled, very fond of the fact that Jenna understood her. She knew how the thing with dreams worked. She had always dreamed to be a doctor. After her sister's death she had to take care of them and so she didn't have time to finish college. Instead, she was now a nurse. Even if she seemed to be content about what she was doing, Elena knew that deep inside, she regretted the fact that she hadn't accomplished her dream.

"Of course. Let's forget about all that for now and just finish the show, okay?" Jenna's gaze wandered back to the television and Elena couldn't help but shake her head. It was amazing how understanding her aunt seemed to be about her leaving to move by herself to the other side of the city.

For the next hour they watched their favorite TV show while eating pizza and drinking beers. Elena had missed that. She promised herself that even if she moved out, she would come by weekly to spend time with Jenna, just like they were now, the two of them, talking about life, about Elena's future, while having a beer.

Finally, she went upstairs and started to get undressed, putting her clothes in the hamper. She slowly moved to the shower and stepped inside, turning on the water. It was warm and it was brushing her skin softly. The stream of water fell against her skin, warming her cold body, running from her long silken brown hair to the swells of her breasts. She extended her hand and grabbed the shampoo bottle, pouring some in her hand. She slowly started to wash her hair, closing her eyes and humming a song.

_"Mommy, mommy!" the little girl screamed from the bathroom._

_ "I'm here, darling. What's wrong?" a tall, brunette woman peeked in to check on her little girl. _

_ "Can you wash my hair with the strawberry shampoo, please?" an adorable smile stretched across the girl's face._

_ "Oh, Elena, when will you wash your hair by yourself?" her mother joked and poured some pink shampoo in her hand. _

_ "But mommy, you're the only one who knows how to wash and brush my hair. Daddy said you're the best," Elena's lower lip stuck out to form a little pout._

_ "I know sweetie but one day you'll have to wash and brush your own hair," her mom said, while washing her daughter's hair. _

_ "But I don't want to!" Elena kicked her foot against the wall of the shower._

_ "But Jeremy is little and does it himself," the woman raised an eyebrow and watched her daughter's reaction with surprise._

_ "But Jeremy has ugly hair," Elena snapped._

_ "Miranda, your daughter's got one heck of a personality," Elena's father said as he watched them. Both Elena and Miranda burst into laughter, giggling at the man in front of them. _

Elena laughed at the memory and wiped away the single tear rolling down her cheek. She barely noticed that she had spent a lot of time in the shower and her skin was shriveled. She turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her body.

A few minutes later, she was tucked in her bed with a book in her hands. _Gone With the Wind_ had always been her favorite and she couldn't even count how many times she's read it. She couldn't get enough of Rhett and Scarlett. Their love was perfect; they were made for each other. Their tumultuous love was what made them so perfect. It was like every part of her fit with every part of him, like a puzzle. It was the kind of love everybody dreamed about but very rarely got it. But Elena didn't dare to dream about finding a love like theirs.

When her phone vibrated on the bed next to her, her head snapped up and she immediately thought of Jeremy. He was supposed to be at a friend's, doing anything but a project for school but she never really knew where he really was. With shaky fingers, she took the phone and stared blankly at the screen.

A single tear rolled down her cheek and she remained there, frozen, thinking about something she'd only dreamt about.


	4. Never Say Never

_****_AN: Three days, holy! I thought I'd let you in a few chapters, considering the fact that in a week and a half school starts and I'll not upload so often. But don't you worry, I'll make sure it doesn't take a month for me to post a chapter. If I start a story, I upload it relatively fast. So, it's time to thank my beta for helping me go through the chapters. She's the one who looks for grammar or spelling mistakes and makes sure everything's fine. Big thanks to her. Enjoy the chapter! And review :)

_**Picture, you're the queen of everything**_

_**As far as the eye can see**_

_**Under your command**_

_**I will be your guardian**_

_**When all is crumbling**_

_**To steady your hand**_

A second later, she was screaming at the top of her lungs, waking Jenna and probably the neighbors too. She put one hand over her mouth, trying to stop herself from both screaming and giggling like an idiot.

"What happened?" Jenna burst into her room, her face panicked and almost paper pale. She looked like she was going to pass out at any moment. Elena looked at her apologetically.

"I'm sorry for waking you up but I got the job. I mean, it's not glamorous or anything but I get to do something based on my studies. I'll get to write some articles for a newspaper," she rambled, her eyes sparkling with joy. She probably looked like Caroline right now but she didn't care. She was getting what she wanted.

"Good lord, that's amazing! Congratulations, Elena," her aunt ran to her and hugged her tight. The color was back in her cheeks and she was grinning too. She seemed to be really happy about the news. "But that means…you're going to move out, right?", she asked, a shade of remorse in her voice.

Elena slightly nodded her head before speaking. "Yes. They asked me to start next week. And it gets better. They found an apartment for me. I won't have to run around Brooklyn stressing to find a place to live," she shrugged. She herself didn't know too much about the job. She found it online and when she applied she thought it was a joke but now she got the message, it was all true and it was awesome.

"That's good, actually. I'll help you get your things packed tomorrow, okay?" Jenna offered and a little yawn escaped her lips. "I'm gonna go sleep. Goodnight, angel," she kissed her niece's forehead and closed the door behind her.

Elena was still grinning like a fool as she climbed back into bed. Not that she could sleep. She was already imagining how her life would be from now on. She had just finished college a day ago and now she was hired as a junior journalist. That was more than even perfect. Her hard work and her good marks brought her here and she was now happy that she invested her time in college and not on parties, like most people did.

In the morning, she was up before sunrise. The dim light penetrated her room, setting it ablaze as the sun slowly rose in the sky. She sat on the windowsill and leaned her head against the wall, looking over at the view in front of the house. It was quiet. Everybody was probably still sleeping. Her mind drifted back to her thoughts before she fell asleep, still wondering what her life would be like from now on. She had to move tomorrow. She had to live alone for the first time in her life. She was beyond happy that she was about to start a new chapter of her life, one that would be her Prologue.

She sat there for a while, watching the sun rise and recapitulating the schedule for the day. Right now she would start packing her stuff, then she would go out to buy some new clothes and tonight she would go out with Stefan, Caroline, Dylan and Stefan's mysterious brother.

Elena got up and lazily opened the door of her room. She snuck out and closed it behind her. She carefully walked to her brother's door and opened it, peeking through the opening. He was awake, which was a surprise. Of course, he was cracking some pills. It wasn't the first time she saw him doing something like that but she couldn't bite her tongue anymore.

"Jeremy!" she closed the door after she stepped inside his room and swiped the powder from his desk.

"Wh - Elena! What the hell are you doing?" he snapped and looked up at her, his eyes wide with anger.

"Enough, Jeremy! It's not the first time I've see you doing stuff like that. I'm getting tired of you walking around stoned like your life is shit. Stop doing this!" she lectured her brother and she could notice a tad of regret on his face.

She sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, grasping his hand and squeezing it gently. "You don't understand. You have no idea what these things can do to you," she explained, trying to make him understand that ruining his life won't change anything in their lives.

"Yeah, you should know better. How was it, Elena? How was it when you tried to kill yourself? With pills, the first time, right?" Jeremy snapped and withdrew his hand from Elena's grasp.

She remained frozen, wordless. Her little brother had to witness that. Her little 13 year old brother had to witness the drama she had caused. How she was taken to the hospital several times. Did he ever ask Jenna where was Elena for six months when she was in the hospital? Did Jenna tell him the truth?

"I-Jeremy," she breathed out, shaking her head confused. "I'm sorry. I know that all that I've done affected you too. You were so young, I should've thought before I did all that."

"Yes, Elena, you should've thought. But you didn't. You didn't care about what Jenna or I were feeling. You didn't care that we suffered too. It wasn't just you who lost your parents. I lost them too. Jenna lost her sister too. But we never tried to commit suicide," Jeremy talked in a harsh tone. He was right by telling her that. She was guilty for what happened with their family, she knew it. At least Jeremy could be completely honest with her.

"I know I've done a lot of things wrong, I can't change that. But you don't have to follow in my footsteps. You have to be different, otherwise you'll hate yourself just like I hate myself sometimes and I don't want that for you. So, quit taking drugs. It's not gonna end up good for you," Elena's eyes were filled with sorrow as she spoke.

"At least I haven't buried my head in the sand and pretended nothing happened for four years," Jeremy's voice faded and he arched an eyebrow, suggesting to Elena that she knew what he's talking about.

"Looks like you'll never get over what I did," Elena spoke but it sounded like a whisper.

"I have nothing to get over, Elena. I was just reminding you how you weren't a saint and how you don't get to lecture me. Anyway, did you want to tell me something or were you just sneaking in to see me get high?" Jeremy asked as he began to sharpen a pencil, sign that he was already bored of talking.

"I'm leaving," Elena simply said.

"What does that mean?" Jeremy's attention piqued and he put the pencil on the desk.

"I mean I'm moving out. I've found a job. It's on the other side of town." she shrugged. There wasn't much to say. She just wanted to explain the situation to him.

"So you have to move out? You can buy yourself a car or take the bus," her brother proposed like they were talking about what kind of cereal to eat in the morning.

"I don't have the money for a car. And me moving out will be a good thing for all of us. I'll be able to finish my book and start on a new life and you'll go to college, you'll need more space for yourself." Elena's gaze wandered up to his face and she smiled lightly. "It'll be fine. You could come and stay there sometimes."

"Yeah, I get it. Your life, your choices. When are you moving out?" Jeremy asked but his tone said that he didn't care. He was just asking so he could hide the fact that he was about to tell her to get out of his room and not only from there, but get out of the house too so he wouldn't have to see her.

"Tomorrow. I'm going to go pack my things now," Elena said and with that she turned around and walked back into her room.

She pulled out two big suitcases from under the bed and opened them. She wanted to pack her things as fast as she could. Suddenly, she wanted to be out of that house as soon as possible. She wanted to have her mind filled with something else and not think about the earlier discussion or about her parents' death anniversary. No, for once, she didn't want to think about it all. For once, she wanted to think about her and her new life.

Elena lazily walked to the closet and pulled both doors open, looking up and down, deciding where to start. Impatiently, she grabbed a handful of clothes and threw them into the suitcase. She would have enough time to arrange them once she moved. Right now, she wasn't in the mood to fold clothes.

An hour later, she was still packing things from her room. She burst into the bathroom and picked up all her cosmetics and shower products and tossed them into the suitcase. When the suitcases were too full, she struggled to get them closed up by sitting on each of them so she could pull the zipper.

The room was now empty, except for the photos scattered around the room and her old posters. She moved around the room, picking up all her framed photos. Those she was going to keep. Elena's head snapped up when she remembered about the photo album in her desk's pigeonhole. She opened it and pulled the dusty album out, brushing the dust off it.

She opened it and sighed seeing the photos. There were memories of her and her parents even before Jeremy was born. In one of the pictures she was sitting between her parents, a big grin on her face, while their lips were sealing a kiss. Another one was picturing her and her mother laying in the grass, her mother looking at her daughter and the little girl looking up at the sky, her index finger pointing up to something in the bright blue sky.

After a moment she closed the album. She couldn't do that to herself anymore. If she was going to torture herself with their memories every single day, she wasn't going to change anything. She would just fill her body and soul with so much hatred towards her old self, which would finally reverberate on her new self. Her past should be the past, not the present as she let it be. Until now.

She had no idea how the day had gone by but she found herself pacing through a shop in the mall, looking for some casual dresses and skirts. If she was going to work at a newspaper she should have appropriate clothes for the job. Along with the clothes, she had bought a new perfume and a lot of other things that would help her get comfortable at the office.

With the bags in her hands, Elena walked past a salon. She smiled and stepped inside, intending to get a new look. The result was amazing, she was glad she decided to do it. Her brown locks weren't there anymore; she had her hair straightened like she often used to wear it. But her long hair disappeared. It was now falling like a cascade just below her shoulders.

Caroline would probably kill her when she'd saw her. That girl was obsessed with long hair. She always said that women have to wear their hair long. What was the beauty of being a woman if you didn't highlight every aspect of it? Elena shook her head at the thought and seeing as it was already pretty late, she headed home so she could get ready for going out.

Just when she was about to call Dylan to tell him to get ready, she received a message from him saying that he couldn't make it, that she should go out though, have fun with her friends. And he couldn't even bother to call? She started to wonder what was really going on with him. What was he up to? The way he was acting lately, it was very odd.

Trying to take her mind off of Dylan and his issues, she pulled out the grey and navy dress she bought and decided to wear it that night. She wasn't going to ditch her friends just because her boyfriend couldn't make it. As if nothing happened, she pulled on a smile, a genuine one, and walked to the mirror to attach the strap to the dress. Ultimately, she wore some foundation and some mascara, just enough to make her look beautiful. Simple but beautiful.

By the time Caroline showed up she was ready to go. Jenna was probably staying late at work and she wouldn't get a chance to talk to her tonight. Elena left the house and climbed into the taxi.

"What have you done to your hair?" Caroline reacted as soon as Elena climbed in. She looked over to see Stefan sitting in the front seat, probably to make room for her.

"Hello, Stefan. It's nice seeing you again," Elena greeted him and smiled kindly at him, receiving an even bigger smile from him. He seemed to be a very nice person and Caroline needed that.

"Hello, Elena. So, where's your boyfriend? I thought you were going to come with him," Stefan asked, his glance wandering to Caroline who seemed to be annoyed because Elena was talking to Stefan instead of talking to her.

"Something came up. He said he's sorry," Elena shrugged, attentively suggesting that it's nothing too important. "God, stop kicking my foot. What?" she breathed out and looked over to Caroline who was throwing daggers at her.

"What the hell is that?" she pointed to Elena's hair with a disgusted look on her face.

"Hair?" Elena threw her a lopsided smile but she knew she won't get away with it so she talked, "I wanted a change and I got a haircut. And new clothes for work. That was what I wanted to tell you if you'd let me. I got the job. I'm moving out tomorrow."

Caroline's eyes opened wide and she looked like she was going to scream or strangle Elena at any moment. She could be so unreadable sometimes, even to her best friends who had known her their entire lives.

"And you tell me this now why?" Caroline snapped and Elena was sure that if they weren't in a cab where the space was limited, she would kick her right in the ass.

"When should I have told you?"

"You should've told me right after you found out," Caroline rolled her eyes.

"I found out last night. Excuse me for being too excited to call. Can you judge more?" Elena scoffed as she was fidgeting her thumbs in her lap.

"Whatever. Your hair - bad choice. You're a woman. Women should highlight every single beautiful thing they have, not cut it off," Caroline protested against Elena's choice before adding, "Anyway, you can't glue it back but I can try to get over it because I'm pretty sure I'll need all my anger for when I see Stefan's brother."

Elena shivered when they stopped in front of the Silver Moon bar. She hadn't told anyone what happened those few days ago there and nor will she ever. That was just between her and the two men who were there that night and she won't see any of them again, not even if she wanted to.

She tried not to give anything up so when they entered the bar she had a big smile on her face. She loved that place and she wouldn't stop going there because of a bad night. It wouldn't happen again, she was sure. They walked to the bar and sat on stools, ready to order.

"Baby, I'll be right back," Stefan whispered in Caroline's ear and she rolled her eyes annoyed.

"He's going after his stupid brother standing right there," she motioned to the pool table and shook her head.

"Give it a rest, Caroline. The man can't be that bad," Elena smiled and looked over to Stefan to see him playing pool with a tall, dark haired man. She stared at him for an extra moment because the guy looked familiar but she moved her attention back on Caroline who was pushing a drink towards her.

"It is_ that _bad. Just wait a minute after you meet him and you're gonna want to run as fast as possible," the blonde sipped from her martini and raised her eyebrows to Elena, trying to convince her that she is right in what she was saying and no one can tell otherwise.

"Elena, this is my brother," Stefan came from behind her and pointed to the man standing with his back to them. He was talking to a girl and she was grinning like a fool.

"Hi, I'm Da-" Damon turned around and his eyes opened wide before a big grin filled up his face. "Elena, what an unexpected surprise to see you here," he added, his voice suggesting something only they knew.

Her face dropped when she saw him. He was the last man she would've thought as to be Stefan's brother. Damon was the man Caroline said was an asshole. He himself told her that night he only seemed nice because he's a stranger. A few minutes earlier she had thought about him when she remembered that night, thinking she won't see him again and now she was standing in front of him, confused.

A smile rose on her face as she talked. "Damon. It's really nice to see you again," she nodded her head. "I would have never thought you're Stefan's brother," she added.

"You two know each other? How?" Caroline's voice made both Damon's and Elena's smiles fall from their faces.

"It's a long story, Caroline. We just know each other," Elena shrugged. She wasn't going to start telling the exciting story from the night they met. It was enough for her to know they knew each other.

"But where did you-" Caroline tried to question but she was interrupted by Damon.

"But nothing, Blondie. Why don't you go back to sipping from your glass and leave us be, okay?" Damon smirked at her and she grimaced as she turned her back on him, starting to whisper something to Stefan, probably asking him if she knew anything about that.

Damon sat on the free stool next to Elena as she turned around to face him. "So, where's your boyfriend?" he asked before motioning to the barman to bring his drink. It was obvious now as the last time that he knew his preferences as he didn't even say a word to him. Alex placed Damon's whiskey on the bar and turned back to his job.

"He couldn't make it. He's busy." Elena grimaced and sipped from her martini.

"Looks like he's always too busy for his girlfriend," Damon said and swallowed a mouthful of whiskey before putting the glass back down on the counter.

"Excuse me?" Elena arched her eyebrow. She knew he was right for saying that, but he didn't have the right to judge her relationship.

"Elena, you know I'm right. He should've been there to save you, not a stranger. But, it's not my problem" Damon shrugged indifferently and narrowed his eyes for a moment. "You cut your hair. And straightened it."

"You're right. It's not," she nodded slightly before smiling. He noticed that change in her. "Yes, I did. How does it look?" Elena asked shyly. Somehow, his presence made her feel giddy but good and safe at the same time.

"It looks good," Damon nodded his head in agreement to his statement as his gazed wandered up and down her body. "When Caroline kept talking about this Elena who is gorgeous and amazing, I never thought it could be you," he admitted.

Elena blushed and smiled, before her reply came, "Well, I never thought you could be Stefan's brother, the asshole she didn't want to talk about. What is it with the two of you anyway? Why can't she stand you?" she asked, a narrow look on her face. She couldn't understand why Caroline didn't like him, he wasn't an ass, not at all.

Damon frowned and pouted his lips for a moment, looking like he was thinking about his answer. "I am though. Well, because she's an obnoxious blonde and I'm an asshole" he shrugged indifferently and finished his drink before turning to look at his brother.

"Hey Stef, watch out for herpes," he called out as he watched Stefan kissing Caroline like there was no tomorrow.

"Dick!" Caroline pulled away from the kiss and hissed at Damon. They didn't seem like two people who hated each other. In fact, they seemed like two people who teased each other like brother and sister. Elena watched the scene and frowned.

Stefan pointed a finger at his brother, warning him to shut up. Damon's smile fell and he rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything else. It seemed like the brothers had a really strong bond, they didn't need words to communicate and Elena found that very important between brothers. She never had that with her brother, even if it was the only thing she wanted from him since he was born. That was the reason why she had wanted a brother. To have someone who could understand her and who would talk to her without words.

"So, Damon, did dad talk to you about that new commercial he wants you to take care of?" Stefan changed the subject and as he sat on his stool, he let Caroline sit on his leg, her arm draped around his neck while she was staring blankly at Damon and Elena, who were standing one next to the other.

"He did. I told him I won't take it," Damon shrugged and shook his head. Stefan's eyes went wide.

"But, why wouldn't you take it? That would bring in a lot of money and not only for the company, but you too" his brother spoke confused, looking like he could only be convinced to accept Damon's decision only if he had a really good reason.

"Because I don't want to. What's there to explain? I'm sick of father trying to control me like I am his puppet. It's over, Stefan. I'm only doing what I want with my job and if he doesn't like it, he can find someone else," Damon snapped. From what Elena could tell, he wasn't very keen on his job and his relationship with his father wasn't so good.

"Fine. Your choice" Stefan didn't discuss his brother's choice but instead he captured Caroline's lips once more.

Elena smiled as she looked at them. They really seemed to be in love. Even if they only knew each other for a few days, they really seemed to be happy and in love. Caroline was the kind of girl who could easily fall in love with a guy if he was 'right' for her. Then she heard Damon groan and turned around to see him drinking another whiskey and grimacing as he watched his brother kissing his girlfriend.

"Those two are like leeches," Damon leaned over to her and whispered in her ear, so Caroline or his brother wouldn't hear.

She rolled her eyes and whispered back, "No, they're not. They're adorable. They look so good together," Elena admired the couple.

"I seriously thought you'd never come back here after that night," Damon narrowed his eyes as he said so.

"Well, it's not like I'm not going to go out from now on. And I really like this place. I won't stop coming here. In fact, no one knows about what happened. I'd like to keep it that way," she whispered the last part because she knew how well Caroline's ears functioned.

"Sure, my lips are sealed," he brushed his index finger over his lips, making Elena's eyes linger on him before she was brought back to reality by Caroline.

"Where did you say this new job was?" the blonde asked after she finally managed to stay off Stefan.

"Brooklyn," Elena said and smiled lightly. She was so excited to move out tomorrow. She would never tell Jenna, but the main reason why she wanted to move wasn't the fact that the job was far from home. Columbia was far from home and she still took the bus every single day. She just wanted to see her go back to med school and that wouldn't be possible with her around. It was time for the others to live their lives. It couldn't be all about her anymore.

"So you're really moving out" her friend said amazed. She probably couldn't believe that Elena would ever move out, start a life of her own after all that's happened with her. They all lived under the impression that she was incapable of doing something for herself and that made her feel useless but she would never tell.

"I am," Elena nodded her head excited. "You can come and help me tomorrow," she proposed.

"Of course I am. You didn't even have to ask me. I would've been there, waiting in your hallway," Caroline giggled in the way only she knew how.

"Of course she would've done that. The blonde loves to intrude no matter where she goes," Damon said sarcastically. He really enjoyed pissing Caroline off and Elena had never seen someone who could annoy the blonde so bad.

"At least I don't walk around doing whatever I want because I have daddy's money," she stuck her tongue out at Damon.

"Your mouth keeps moving and I don't know why," Damon pointed a finger towards his own mouth.

Elena and Stefan were just looking at the two of them, wordlessly. Damon and Caroline were the same. They both argued with everyone and they couldn't stand someone contradicting them. It was amazing how two people who were alike could pretend to hate each other to this extent. Elena wanted to facepalm herself just from looking at the two bickering.

Minutes later, Dylan walked in the bar and found them. Elena was caught up in what seemed to be an important discussion with Damon. Her boyfriend frowned at the sight of her talking to a stranger and walked over to the group.

"Hi everyone!" he greeted Caroline and Stefan who he already knew and his gaze wandered to his girlfriend.

Elena's head snapped up when she heard the familiar voice and she got up from the stool when she saw him walking towards her.

"Hey," she mumbled and smiled warmly. "I thought you couldn't make it."

"Hey," Dylan moved closer and caught her lips for a slight moment. "I made it eventually. I had something important to ask you," he said, making her frown. What could be that important so he would come here only to ask her?

She could feel Damon's eyes on the two of them and could tell he was rolling his eyes. It seemed like he didn't like people around them to be affectionate with their loved ones. Maybe he had a good reason why he had a problem with that. She noted to ask Caroline tomorrow.

"So you're the boyfriend," Damon mumbled while sipping nonchalantly from his drink.

"And who are you?" Dylan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just a friend of Elena's," Damon replied and smirked when Dylan's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Relax, I said a friend," he repeated.

"And what did you want to ask me?" Elena distracted her boyfriend from Damon, her eyes narrowed, a wave of worry passing through her body. "Did something happen?"

Dylan bent down on one knee and pulled out a little velvet, black box, which he opened with shaky hands to reveal a diamond ring. She gasped in shock and her hand flew to her mouth, trying not to scream. She raised her head just for a second and it was enough to see the other faces around her. Caroline seemed to be thrilled, Stefan was smiling and Damon...Damon was deadpanned.

Dylan's eyes were sparkling with excitement and surprisingly, his voice didn't tremble when he asked, "Elena Gilbert, will you marry me?"

* * *

AN: Wow, did that happen? Yeah, it did. A lot of you will probably think: What does this even mean? For me, it means moving on, I don't know what you think. Review and let me know what did you think of this cliffhanger.


	5. Demons

****AN: I've finally come to you with this chapter. It was pretty hard to write, but here it is. I hope you'll like it. I think I had pictured Elena's feelings pretty well with her talking about the three boys (Tyler, Matt, Dylan) with her friends. Anyway, enjoy it. And of course, review!

**When the days are cold**

**And the cards all fold**

**And the saints we see**

**Are all made of gold**

"Elena Gilbert, will you marry me?"

The words echoed in her head as she was stared down at Dylan still holding that little velvet box in his hand, his eyes glistening, as he anxiously waited for an answer. She wanted to run, to escape from everything right now. She couldn't do that though. She had to stay there and give him an answer.

If she said no, she would lose him forever and she didn't want to. She loved him, he was the first constant in her life after the accident and she couldn't let that go. She would be destroyed if she lost that. He had been there for her in moments when she couldn't trust anyone else and losing that meant losing a part of herself that she wasn't ready to give up.

But if she accepted his proposal her life would take a 180 degrees turn. Right now, the most important thing in her life wasn't him. She should be ashamed to say that out loud, but she wasn't. The most important thing in her life at the moment was finishing her book, finding a good publisher and for the book to be successful. She finally got a job she was excited about. The fact that in the beginning she would just write small articles and help people with their fact checking was of little importance, because she was going to work hard to achieve a better position, to be an important person and she couldn't do that being married. For Elena, marriage meant devotion and devotion meant that all her attention was supposed to go to her husband and she wasn't ready to do that just yet. She couldn't get married and then go on with her life like she had planned to do. No. That would affect both her and Dylan.

Why was he proposing to her here, in this bar, surrounded by so many people? That made the situation harder than it already was and she didn't know how to tell him she couldn't get marry, not just yet. But would he wait for her if she explained the situation to him? She wanted to believe he would, she wanted to think he loved her that much that he could wait a few more years. But the more she thought about this, the more terrified she got because no one could wait for another one that long, just because their job was more important than love. He wouldn't understand her. He would think she is selfish.

She wanted to cry. She wanted to cry so bad but she just couldn't allow herself to break down. These were the moments when she needed her mother more than she needed the air she breathed. She needed the person who gave her life to be next to her, to tell her what is right and wrong, to advise her. She needed her mother to tell her what to do.

"Elena?" Dylan's voice reached her ears but she still couldn't find her voice. "Are you going to answer?" his voice trembled this time. He was going to insist until she gave him an answer and she couldn't drag him along until she would be able to give him what he wanted.

He deserved to get the happiness he wanted, he deserved to find a girl who would love him as much as she loved him, but who wouldn't be as selfish as she was and wouldn't put herself above his happiness. She wanted that for him. She wished he could be happy and if his happiness was away from her, then that was it. She would accept it and instead of being happy with him, she would try to put every piece of herself in her work. That way, she won't regret doing that to him.

"No," Elena's voice was shaky, tears welling up in her eyes. She tried to hold them in but it seemed to be impossible, so she just let them flow free on her cheeks.

"What? No?" Dylan asked, confused. He wasn't grasping that she was saying no to his proposal. He didn't know she was giving up on two years with him. No. She was actually giving up on a lifetime with him.

"No, I can't marry you," her voice was stronger this time, tears still wetting her face. She watched as his face fell and he let the little box fall out of his hand, crashing to the floor.

"You-you can't marry me?" he repeated numbly.

Elena looked to Damon who had his eyebrows arched and a confused look on his face. She couldn't even look at Caroline. She was probably staring blankly at her, judging.

Dylan's eyes wandered to Damon and his eyes opened wide. "Of course" he nodded his head. "It's you. That's why she can't marry me. She's having an affair with you," he declared.

"What? No!" Elena snapped, looking over to Damon who was now smirking dangerously at Dylan. "No. I barely know him!" she explained.

"You couldn't blame her if she did have an affair with me though," Damon shrugged indifferently.

"Motherfucker!" Dylan lunged at Damon and he was about to punch him but his fist stopped in midair when Elena jumped between the two of them.

"Stop!" she screamed, more tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "Damon, you should stay out of this," she warned him.

"Come on, sit down and shut up," Stefan came from behind him and pulled him away from Elena and Dylan. She watched him sit on a stool next to Stefan and drink his whiskey. She looked around to see the people dancing. At least no one was staring at them, the music was too loud for them to be heard by anyone on the dance floor and they were the only ones at the bar.

"Why won't you marry me, Elena?" Dylan begged for an answer and his face and the sorrow in his voice broke her heart but she just couldn't do it. She couldn't fool him.

"Because," her voice was like a whisper and she cleared her throat before talking again, "I don't know how to say it," she broke down and started to cry out loud. "Damn it!" she cursed and inwardly chastised herself for being such a coward. "Because I just got a job and I want to finish my book and I want to have a future as a writer and marriage wasn't even in my mind, not even moving in with you. I was good with things being simple" she spoke as fast as she could, otherwise she wouldn't get through it without crying.

"God, Elena! You really are dumping me because your job is more important that marrying me?" Dylan said and she could notice the shock in his voice. He probably thought that the girl in front of him wasn't the Elena he knew, because she surely didn't act like herself.

"No, I'm not dumping you. I'm just asking to wait a few more years. We're young, we don't have to hurry," she tried to explain. She was very young. She couldn't get married at only 22. He was just three years older. Their lives as a married couple didn't have to start here.

He let out a muffled laugh before speaking again, "You are so screwed up, Elena. You don't even know what you want from life. I'm not going to wait for you a few years, so you can come to me and say that you're sorry when your book isn't successful," he spoke in a sarcastic tone. "No, forget it. We're done," he said and turned around to leave.

"Dylan! Please, don't go!" she went after him and grabbed his hand.

"Stay away from me Elena. I don't want to ever see you again. Go home and write your book and in twenty years you'll still be alone with your books because nobody will ever want you," he withdrew his hand and walked away from her, leaving the bar.

Elena watched him leave and she slowly turned around, walking to Caroline who was sitting there, on a stool, trying to process what just happened.

"It's over Caroline. He dumped me," Elena leaned her body into her friend's embrace and a new wave of tears pooled in her eyes.

"Oh, sweetie," Caroline tried to soothe her, her hand running up and down Elena's back.

"It's my fault. I should've said yes. I broke his heart, Caroline," she cried out, her words muffled by Caroline's shirt.

"He'll be fine. You did what was right. You didn't want to marry him and you told him. It's fine. Come on, we should get you home," she said and stepped away to grab their bags.

"I can get her home," Damon offered and he threw Elena an apologetic look, nodding slightly.

"So you can have something to laugh at. No thanks," Caroline bit out and started walking outside the bar and into the cool air of the night.

"Oh come on, Blondie, I'm not a total monster," Damon protested and followed them outside, leaving Stefan behind to pay for their drinks.

"It's okay," Elena mumbled and looked over to Caroline. "You and Stefan go home. Damon can take me home. If he wants to, of course," her glance wandered up to Damon and he only nodded.

"But-" Caroline tried to protest but then Stefan came next to her and put an arm around her waist.

"She's going to be fine, baby. Just call us if you need something, Elena. Anything," he offered and smiled kindly before dragging Caroline to a cab.

"Goodnight, sweetie," Caroline whispered as she tried to keep up with Stefan, leaving her best friend and her boyfriend's brother behind.

"Thank you for offering to take me home, Damon. She would've come with me and sometimes she just talks too much. I wasn't in the mood for a Caroline Inquisition," Elena thanked him and wiped away some tears.

"I know. That's the Blondie effect," he tried to joke but he only succeeded in making her grimace.

They walked to a car and climbed inside. Damon told the driver the destination and his eyes fell on Elena as her hands were lying in her lap, her fingers fidgeting nervously.

Neither of them said anything as they sat in the backseat of the cab. At an intersection, Elena let her head lean on Damon's shoulder. For a moment, she thought he would retract his arm but instead, he pulled her closer so she leaned against his chest, feeling his warmth and hearing his heartbeat.

All the way to her house she sobbed into Damon's shirt until she finally fell asleep, too exhausted to keep her eyes open.

"Elena," Damon whispered, "Elena, wake up," he gently squeezed her arm, trying to wake her up.

She made a lazy attempt to get up but gave up and put all her weight on Damon, groaning when he squeezed her arm. She could hear voices around her and she knew that Damon had just paid the cabbie and now he was trying to get out of the car.

After finally releasing himself from her, he slowly stepped outside and straightened his shoulders before leaning back down and gently pulling Elena into his arms. Her arms slowly settled around his neck as he walked up to her house. Damon stopped in front of the door and knocked once, waiting for someone to open.

A minute later, Jenna was standing in the doorway, eyes wide open, staring at her niece and the man who was carrying her. She seemed to be in shock at the sight of her niece being brought home in a stranger's arms.

"Oh my god, Elena!" Jenna started to cry and stared at the two of them blankly until Damon cleared his throat and motioned for her to move. Jenna nodded shortly and with a shaky voice told him to follow her and she moved to the stairs, walking as fast as her legs allowed her.

She opened Elena's door for him and turned on the lights. Damon stepped inside her room, glancing around the empty space. All her things were packed and the room looked like it was one from a new house. He walked over to the bed and laid her on the soft mattress, his fingers tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. He stole one last glance at her and exited her room, now facing her aunt who was sobbing, her hand covering her eyes.

"Where did you find her?" Jenna asked and Damon frowned, shaking his head.

"No, she wasn't blacked out somewhere. We were together at the bar. With Caroline and Stefan," he explained and watched how a layer of worry left Jenna's face. "She's gonna be fine."

"What happened?" Jenna requested but Damon just shrugged his shoulders.

"You'll have to ask Elena. She's the one who can tell you," he simply pointed out before turning around to leave.

"Thank you..." she mumbled, a question mark on her face.

"Damon," he nodded shortly and stepped outside, leaving Jenna alone with her thoughts and a broken Elena in her room.

The petite woman wiped her tears and slowly walked upstairs, opening the door to Elena's room and stepping inside. The sight of her niece laying on the bed, her face stained with tears and mascara made her want to run away and live her own life, with no teenagers and young adults in her life, with no dead sister. But she couldn't do that. She had to be there for them until the very end, until they didn't need her anymore. It was her duty and she was happy to help them, but sometimes it was broke her heart to see what a wreck they were.

The thought of Elena trying to harm herself never left her mind that night as she lay next to the girl, watching how, in her sleep, she softly sobbed from time-to-time. She wanted to take her pain away, it was the only thing she had wanted in the last 5 years but she was incapable of helping her more than she already did.

The morning sun broke in the room and Elena groaned when she was woken up by the light and the noise of a plane taking off. She straightened her shoulders and leaned against the bed frame, trying to remember what happened. And then it was clear like it was last night all over again. She had left home and met her friends, they went to the bar, had a couple of drinks. She found out that Damon was Stefan's brother and that, in fact, he could be a jerk. And then Dylan came and proposed to her. She remembered exactly how she turned him down, breaking his heart and destroying her last chance at happiness with a good guy who wanted her for her heart and not only for her body.

Her eyes snapped to the other side of the bed to see her aunt's arm stretched on the bed and a frown on her face as she slept. She couldn't remember what happened after she left the bar with Damon though. She must've fallen asleep as soon as she got home and Jenna checked on her.

She got out of bed and walked into the bathroom, starting to fill the bathtub and poured some bath oil in the warm water. She slipped off the navy dress she wore last night and let her bra and panties fall to the floor as well. Lazily, she slipped in the bathtub and let out a heavy sigh once she fully succumbed to the sensation.

Her eyes slowly closed as she brushed her skin, stopping at the crook of her neck where she could feel a node in her throat, threatening to make her cry at any moment then moving further to her chest and stomach, rubbing the soft skin. She repeated the steps multiple times until she felt it was the time to get out.

When she re-entered her room, Jenna was sitting in the middle of the bed, her legs crossed and her eyes following Elena as she moved across the room.

"Good morning," Elena mumbled and pulled a tiny smile while she was tying the belt of her bathrobe.

"What happened last night?" Jenna asked, not bothering to respond back.

"What do you mean what happened?" Elena narrowed her eyes, pretending she doesn't understand what her aunt was talking about but that only made Jenna get mad.

"Don't. Don't try to treat me like a fool, Elena. A guy named Damon carried you to you bedroom last night because you were passed out. And you looked like crap; tears and mascara stained. So you better tell me what the hell happened before I call Caroline and she will gladly tell me everything," Jenna snapped, from time-to-time gesticulating.

"No!" Elena's eyes opened wide when she heard Caroline's name. That girl was insane, she would tell her everything. If someone had to tell Jenna what happened, Elena wanted to do it because it was her fault in the first place. She wasn't going to be soft with herself. No, she was going to accept that she had been a first class jackass.

"I broke up with Dylan," she breathed out.

"What? Why?" Jenna asked, a confused expression on her face. Of course she couldn't imagine why she broke up with such a good guy. No one would ever understand. But she just couldn't trick him, marry him and then not be devoted to their marriage.

"He proposed last night. I said no," Elena shrugged her shoulders like it wasn't a big deal, but actually it was and she already made a big fuss about it last night when she had cried her eyes out.

"Are you insane? How could you say no to that amazing guy?" Jenna's jaw dropped the moment she heard Elena.

"Because right now, the most important thing for me is my career. And I know this sounds crazy but I swear, Jenna, it's the only reason. I don't want to drag him along with me and make him unhappy. He deserves someone who could give him all her time. And that's not me. Not right now," the girl explained, tears threatening to well up in her eyes and the node in her throat was almost choking her.

She looked at her aunt who just nodded her head, the disbelief on her face disappearing immediately. Right now, Jenna must've thought she was insane and didn't want to say the wrong thing.

"God, I know you're all judging me right now. You should've seen Caroline last night. Your face was the same. I didn't want to break his heart, Jenna," she cried out and tears streamed down her face.

"I know, sweetie. I'm not judging you. I understand you," Jenna pulled her into her arms and let her cry on her shoulder.

"He hates me," Elena's muffled voice cried from Jenna's arms.

"He doesn't hate you. He hates the fact that he can't be with you," Jenna explained, trying to make her feel better, but that was impossible, she wouldn't feel better. She would never forgive herself for hurting him like that. She screwed up big time.

Minutes later, she heard heels on the stairs and both she and Jenna rolled her eyes in exasperation. It was clear as the day who it was. There was only one person who would enter her house like that, without knocking, without calling, without anything.

The door to her room opened and in the doorway stood Caroline in all her glory, dressed in black and white with a white purse, like she was going to a funeral. Caroline, who hated black, always wore colorful clothes. Caroline, who was a fashionista, was wearing black because Elena broke up with her boyfriend. That was just insane and Elena wanted to poke her eyes out.

"Elena, sweetie!" she ran and hugged her like she hadn't seen her in ages.

"Hi, Care," she returned the hug but looked at Jenna who was exasperatedly pointing to the door before she ran from the room.

"What happened? Why did you turn down Dylan?" Caroline prodded and Elena rolled her eyes, but didn't get to respond because Bonnie burst into the room and sat on the bed.

"Elena. Hi. Caroline messaged me to come here. She said it was urgent," Bonnie shrugged her shoulders.

"Of course she did," Elena threw her a lopsided smile but didn't say anything else. "I'll tell you everything. So, I had a nice time with Caroline, Stefan and Damon last night and-"

"Wait, who's Damon?" Bonnie asked, interrupting her.

"That asshole brother of Stefan," Caroline responded before Elena could, rolling her eyes.

"He's not an asshole," Elena defended him and looked over to Bonnie who seemed confused. "He's not," she smiled.

"Why are you defending him, Elena? You don't even know him," Caroline snapped and frowned at her friend.

"I do know him and he's not an ass. Whatever. Let me tell you now or I won't tell you anymore" she sighed.

"So, then, Dylan comes to the bar and..." Elena began.

With Caroline's interventions every five seconds, she finally managed to finish and at the end, her face was red from all the tears and the girls were tangled together, trying to comfort Elena and tell her it was all going to be fine. But she knew it wasn't going to be fine. It wasn't going to be fine until she got Dylan to forgive her and be happy again.

"Sweetie, I'm so sorry. It's going to be fine, you're going to find someone else, someone who will understand you. Like Stefan understands that I'm a control freak and a workaholic too," Caroline smiled between the tears she was now shedding.

"I don't want someone else. No one will be like him. I want to be alone," Elena wiped away the tears and took a big breath.

"But you said that about Matt and Tyler too and you always found someone else," Bonnie interfered.

"It was different with them. Matt was my first real boyfriend. But even with him, it didn't feel right, like it felt with Dylan. We loved each other, yes and I still love Matt, you guys know that. He was the kind of boyfriend you date because you owe it to yourself. We've been friends forever and it was logical that at some point we were going to date. And Tyler...he was just a high school fad. I was a stupid girl back then and I didn't know what love was. Hell, I don't even think that I know now. If I knew, I would've accepted Dylan's proposal, because that's what love is, love above all, right?" Elena asked but she nodded her head, agreeing with her own words. "From now on, I'll work my ass off and have fun, because that's what life's about, right? Work and fun!" she wondered, looking to each of her friends, searching for approval.

"Yes, that's totally right," both girls said and smiled before hugging their friend again, happy that they managed to make her feel a bit better.

"So, what's going on between you and Damon?" Caroline asked and looked at her like she knew she was hiding something. She was Caroline, she always knew things. But she would never get that secret out of Elena.

"Nothing's going on. Why?" Elena shrugged indifferently.

"Hm..How do you even know him?" the blonde wanted to know everything and if someone didn't tell her all she wanted to know she was pissed off. And no one loved a pissed off Caroline.

"I just know him, god, Care! You ask so many questions. I don't even remember where I met him, I just did," she nervously laughed, trying to hide the obvious facts.

"That's not true. You're giddy. Tell me, tell us," she pointed to herself and to Bonnie who was quietly listening to them, probably thinking that her two best friends were freaks.

"You are worse than the Spanish Inquisition. I met him a while ago. Why does this matter anyway?"

"He's still an asshole," Caroline gave up, shrugging her shoulders while Elena rolled her eyes.

"You don't know him well enough to judge," Elena frowned, suggesting that the blonde couldn't be so sure on what she was saying about the man who saved her.

"Oh, trust me, Elena, I know a bunch about him. If you knew, you'd run," she said, making Elena question Damon again.

"Elena!" a voice screamed from downstairs. "You should come here. Immediately!"

The girls jumped off the bed and ran out of the room, walking down the stairs as fast as they could, their faces pale and filled with shock as they saw what was happening downstairs.

* * *

AN: What could've possibly happened downstaires? It's another cliffhanger, I think I'm obsessed with those. Just stay tuned and you'll find out!


	6. Down

__AN: Phew! And I've finally managed to upload chapter 5. I'm so sorry it took so long, I know I've promised not to take so much time uploading because I don't like making you guys wait but as you probably know, school started and it's seriously occupying lots of my free time. Now I've started to write the next chapters and be sure that I will keep writing further. Enough about me. This chapter is about 4000 words, not as long as the other ones, but I think it covers it all. Enjoy it and review!

_**I don't know where I'm at**_

_**I'm standing at the back**_

_**And I'm tired of waiting**_

_**Waiting here in line**_

_**Hoping that I'll find**_

_**What I've been chasing**_

"Jeremy! Jeremy, wake up," Elena cried out, squeezing her brother's arm. His body was convulsing and she couldn't tell if his chest was regularly rising and falling with breaths.

"Elena. He-he blacked out the second he walked through the door," Jenna cried out and in the next second she was pumping in Jeremy's chest, trying to get him to react.

"I'll call 911!" Caroline cried and shook her head in disbelief.

Jeremy was just a 13-year-old boy when his parents died. He should've had a normal, happy, teenage life but he had everything but that. His life has been on hold since the night of the accident. Whilst Elena tried to kill herself to find her peace, to stop living in pain, he tried to bury it in alcohol and drugs. Whilst for her school was the most important thing, for him didn't matter anymore. The only things related to school he did were his sketches, which also got him an acceptance letter to the Arts College.

He was destroying himself and that didn't affect only Elena. It involved Jenna and their friends as well. His life was more important than he thought, it was a shame that he was wasting it like that.

A couple of minutes later, the ambulance came and took him. Although Jenna was his guardian and she should've gone with him, Elena insisted to go herself. She had to be next to him in these moments. At the end of the day, it was her fault that he was like this. If she didn't leave the house that night to go to the party, her parents wouldn't be dead, she wouldn't have tried to commit suicide, Jeremy wouldn't have been an addict.

The next couple of hours were critical. The doctors wouldn't say anything to them as they were sitting in the waiting room, tears pouring from their eyes as they prayed for Jeremy to be all right. Whilst Jenna was sitting on a chair next to Bonnie, both crying, Caroline was desperately trying to reach Stefan on her phone. And Elena, she was just pacing, too shocked to even cry. She couldn't think about anything else but her parents and how much she wished they were here.

After Caroline shut her phone annoyed, the door of the waiting room opened and Stefan walked towards them, a somber look on his face. He looked like he hadn't gotten enough sleep, his hair was ruffled, he had dark circles and his green eyes were worn out.

"Elena, I'm so sorry," he walked past the nurses and got to her.

"Stefan," she nodded but he wasn't sure that she really was aware of his presence or it was just his voice that really made her believe he was in front of her.

"He's going to be fine," he pulled an encouraging smile on his tired face before moving to his girlfriend, who was now sitting a few steps away from Elena. She managed to push the blonde away before Stefan came, saying that she needs to think about things.

"Hey baby," Stefan pecked her on the lips and frowned, looking at her clothes. "What's with the black?"

"Quiet," Caroline hushed him, "It's a ritual. Whenever one of us breaks up with our boyfriends, the others have to wear black," she shrugged like it was the most normal thing in the world to do. "Baby, but Jeremy," she sobbed in his arms, while Stefan caressed her back.

"It's okay. He's going to be okay," he soothed his girlfriend.

Later on, when everyone seemed to be on the verge of a meltdown, the doctor walked through the door and stopped in front of Elena, who was frantically chewing on her bottom lip, her face pale.

"Miss Gilbert? Your brother is stable now. We had to pump his stomach," he said and a sigh of relief escaped Elena's mouth.

"Thank God. Is he awake?" she asked, looking over to Jenna, informing her that her nephew is going to be fine.

"Yes, he requested to see you," the doctor began but he couldn't even finish his phrase because Elena burst into Jeremy's room.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she saw her brother laying on a hospital bed, with an IV in his arm, pumping liquids into his body. He looked so innocent, like a child who had a playground accident. Only she knew that he was, indeed, an innocent boy. He had been through a lot his whole life but the fact that he was consuming drugs and alcohol didn't mean he wasn't the same Jeremy he had been 5 years ago.

"Elena," he called with a hoarse voice, his face turning to her. His eyes were red, inflamed and his lips were dry.

"Jer," the tears rolled down her cheeks as she ran to his bed and carefully hugged him. "Don't do this to me again, okay? I wouldn't survive if something happened to you," she cried, her tears wetting his white gown.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, "I'm not touching any drugs for a while," he announced.

"You're never touching drugs in your life again!" she playfully slapped his shoulder before grabbing his hand. "I was so scared. I thought you were dying."

"I'm fine, 'Lena. I just want to go home," he said and yawned.

"I don't know if you can leave just yet. Come on, sleep, I'll be right here," his sister spoke and she smiled gently, inwardly thankful that her brother was fine.

"Weren't you moving out? Today, right?" Jeremy asked, his eyes threatening to close any minute.

"Yeah..." she mumbled. She totally forgot about that. She was supposed to move to her new place tonight, but she didn't care about it right now. All she needed was to be there, with her brother, making sure that he's fine.

"Go. Jenna's here. I'll be fine," Jeremy's voice was like a whisper but the color was almost back in his cheeks.

"No, Jer, I'm not leaving-"

"Elena, if you want me to feel better, go and do your thing. I'm not alone here. What else can happen?" he convinced her and pulled a weak smile.

"Thanks, Jer. I love you," she leaned closer and pressed her lips against his forehead before leaving.

Elena returned to the waiting room to see the relief on everyone's faces.

"How is he?" Jenna walked straight to her.

"He's Jeremy. He's fine," Elena smiled warmly. "I have to go move my things. You'll stay with him, right?"

"Of course. Sorry I can't help you Elena," Jenna apologized.

"You're doing enough, Jenna. I'll talk to you soon," she hugged her aunt before turning to Caroline, who, of course, was making out with Stefan in the corner like a teenager. There was no cure for her. Ten minutes ago she was crying her eyes out and now she was giggling and making out with her hot boyfriend in the hospital.

"You two, get off each other," she cleared her throat. "Are you going to help me move out?" Elena asked, setting her hands on her hips while waiting for an answer.

"Sure, let's go. Stefan has his car outside. He can help, right?" she gesticulated to Stefan who clearly didn't have the 'help my girlfriend's best friend move out' on his to-do list for the day.

"Of course," he smiled kindly. That man was either too good to be true or he was too in love with Caroline to disagree with her. Elena thought it was a little bit of both. She just smiled and walked out of the hospital, leaving the two lovebirds behind. She hated the fact that she had no one to kiss anymore, that she had lost the guy she loved.

"And that should be the last one," Elena said and put down the last box. Three hours later and they finally finished carrying boxes and unpacking as they went. If Caroline and Stefan hadn't been there to help her, she would've still been carrying boxes a week later.

"My back hurts. You owe me a day at the spa," Caroline winked playfully, pointing her finger in Elena's direction.

"I promise. I'll even go with you," she smiled and leaned against the kitchen counter.

"This place is nice. I guess it's pretty expensive," Stefan accounted.

"Actually, no, it's reasonable. I wouldn't have taken it if it was expensive" Elena shrugged and looked around. This was her new home. She liked it.

The apartment had two rooms, the living room and a bedroom, but that was enough for her. The living room was painted in a bright yellow, coordinating with the orange couch in the middle. She had brought her mini plasma with her and settled it on the TV stand. The thing that made the living room perfect was the round coffee table, made of mahogany. It was as gorgeous as the rest of the house.

When Caroline entered her bedroom, she immediately fell in love with the design. It was the perfect size. The wall the bed was on was featured dozens of color and the other three were cream-colored with nothing else on them. She couldn't say she was mad about the bedroom, even if it was the place she would spend most of her time in. It was more geared towards Caroline's tastes but she didn't have the money to redecorate now and somehow, it was girl-ish and inspiring.

The kitchen and the bathroom were pretty small and simply painted, the only difference was that the kitchen had marbled counters. The views were incredible. She could see the Brooklyn Bridge and the crowded streets. Elena enjoyed the urban agglomeration. When she was little, she had always dreamed to live in a big city like New York, in one of these apartments, standing at the window, looking at the people's maddening march on the streets and writing her stories.

"I don't have any food, guys. I can give you...mineral water or lemon water," Elena smiled awkwardly and took three bottles of water from her bag and gave Caroline and Stefan one.

"So now what? You just live alone?" Caroline asked, a judgmental look on her face. Two years ago, she received money from her parents to buy an apartment. She offered Elena to come and live with her but she refused, on the grounds that she didn't want to leave Jenna and her brother alone. Of course in that same day, she had found two girls from college to live with her. It was such a good thing for Caroline because she would have money from their rent while she finished college.

Elena nodded her head, not knowing what to say. "Yes. And I'll go to work. I'm an employed woman now," she said proudly.

Caroline was one year older than she was. She had graduated last year from the Arts and Design University. A week later, she had been hired as chief designer for a fashion company. She had always been the lucky one from the three of them. Elena and Bonnie had always had to work harder than Caroline to achieve what they wanted. Bonnie was the youngest of them. She was still a college girl, entering her last year.

"Yes, you are," Caroline squeaked. "Now you _have _to wear the clothes I design because you are going to be an important person at the office."

"I haven't even started, Care. I don't know how important I will be," Elena rolled her eyes.

"Hey baby," Caroline sat on the couch next to Stefan, who was just looking at the two of them, staying out of the discussion, "don't you think Elena should wear some other clothes? Like these?" she pointed to herself.

Elena rolled her eyes and her glance wandered to Stefan who was trying not to laugh while Caroline was pointing to all the things she didn't like about Elena's choices in fashion.

"I don't know, baby. I'm not a designer like you. I'm sure Elena knows better" he shrugged apologetically.

"Elena does not know better" the blonde insisted. Stefan's phone rang and he slowly withdrew it from his pocket. Caroline glanced at the screen and groaned annoyed.

Elena could only stare at them. They were talking about her like she wasn't even there. That was the power of Caroline Forbes. She could talk about someone and actually make them feel like it wasn't about them, like they were absent.

"I seriously dislike yours and Damon's relation. You are so co-dependent," Caroline rolled her eyes annoyed and turned to Elena who was swallowing mouthfuls of water so she could stop herself from yelling at them.

"Elena, seriously, don't you ever fall in love with a guy who's co-dependent with his brother. It's like you're haunted by him. Horrible," the blonde stuck her tongue out at Stefan who didn't say anything else. He probably agreed with her but he couldn't do anything about it. Eventually, blood is thicker than water.

"I'm sorry, I have to get this. He may need me" Stefan walked away and answered his phone, keeping a low voice while talking to his brother.

"I swear, I hate Damon!" Caroline snapped, flashing Elena her look that was scaring the shit out of everybody. "He always manages to take Stefan away from me, even when he's not around"

"I'm sure he doesn't do it on purpose. You don't know what it's like to have a brother, Caroline. You can be so selfish sometimes. You want him all for yourself" Elena explained, her voice serence and low.

"Care, let's go baby. I'm sure Elena's tired," Stefan said and got up off the couch, walking to the door.

"Why? Damon again. What does he want? I want to stay. I need to talk to Elena about her first day and-" when Caroline tried to protest, he simply hushed her and opened the door.

"Goodbye, Elena," Stefan said and she nodded shortly.

"Thanks, Stefan."

"Sweetie, call me if you need anything. Anytime. I love you," the blonde whispered and hugged her friend, knowing that it would be useless to protest anymore.

"I love you too," Elena replied and watched Caroline walk after Stefan.

Her head was going to explode. If Caroline had stayed in her apartment for 10 more minutes, she would've probably locked herself in the bedroom and hid under the pillows, or she would've kicked her out. It was like Stefan could read her thoughts because every time she wanted to get rid of Caroline, he came out with the idea to leave.

Elena had spent the next hour hanging up her clothes in the closet, this time with more care than when she was packing. She walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge, forgetting that it was empty. She got on a pair of sneakers and took her bag, heading towards the supermarket.

As she was walking through the aisles, she saw Dylan buying something that seemed to be their favorite ice cream. Actually, it was her favorite ice cream, Chunky Monkey, but she made him try it and he instantly fell in love. She wondered what was he doing there but then it hit her; he lived in Brooklyn too so it was obvious why he was shopping there. That meant that they would bump into each other pretty often.

That was a bad thing. If they were still together, she would be thrilled to live near him but knowing that she can't speak to him anymore, that she can't touch him, that she can't kiss him or make love to him anymore it made her heart ache and for a few moments she wanted to go back in time and accept his proposal. But then her mind would take over her feelings, making her believe that she had made the right choice, that she wouldn't have been happy as a married woman until she published her first book, until she discovered the perks of having a real life.

She pushed her cart further until she was standing next to him. If she ever had a chance to talk to him, it was then. He couldn't get mad and yell at her in a store, right?

"Hi," she mumbled, her voice shaky.

The moment he saw her he turned around and started to walk to the check out. He really hated her. She wasn't sure until now. He couldn't even look at her and not feel hate, that's why he was avoiding her.

"Dylan, please," she begged and reached for his arm, but he withdrew it immediately.

"What do you want, Elena?" he snapped, making her step back.

"I wanted to see how you were," she whispered.

A sarcastic laugh came out his mouth before he spoke. "Seriously? Can you not see how selfish you are? You wanted to end this. You ended it. Now leave me alone. Why do you want to torture me?"

"I don't. Dylan, I love you, okay? But I just can't get married now and you can't wait for me," she cleared her throat.

"That's right, Elena. I can't wait for someone who's not even sure what she wants from life. What if you life plan goes down and you won't be able to do anything you wanted to do? No book, no good job, no anything. What are you going to do then, Elena?" he questioned.

She never thought about that. What if he was right? What if she wasn't able to achieve any of her goals? She wanted to believe she could. It was the only thing that kept her going since the death of her parents. She couldn't stop believing that she was good enough for this. She trusted herself, she trusted her work and her potential. She wouldn't let him disenchant her.

"I don't, I-" she shook her head but she couldn't say anything else.

"That's what I thought. Goodbye, Elena. I hope you get all you wanted," he said and looked at her one more time before turning around. She stood there, frozen for a moment, before the wheels started to turn in her head again.

When she arrived back home it was late in the evening. She had just enough time to have dinner and then go to sleep.

It was so weird to eat alone. She barely ate any of the salad she had bought from the supermarket. While standing at the table in the kitchen, her thoughts wandered to everything that had happened that week.

At first it was her graduation. Everybody was so happy about her finishing as the valedictorian, they all wanted to celebrate. That night didn't finish the way she thought it would. Whilst she wanted to go home with Dylan, watch a movie and spend the night with him, she ended up being saved from being abused. If it wasn't enough, the man who saved her was the brother of her best friend's boyfriend. Besides the fact that he was very handsome, he was also intriguing and mysterious. And Dylan…she couldn't even think about him and not burst into tears. She broke him. She won't be able to forgive herself for that. And if all that wasn't enough, her brother ended up in hospital because of an overdose.

Elena lowered her head, putting her face in her hands. The node in her throat didn't let her breath and she could feel tears welling up in her eyes. Before she could hold them, she began crying uncontrollably and for the first time in years she wished she were dead.

She hadn't been afraid of death. All the times she tried to kill herself, she wasn't afraid of dying. She had thought that death was going to bring her peace. She didn't fear it. But now, even if she wanted to harm herself again, she couldn't do it. She had learned to live with the guilt and accept it as a part of who she was. It was what made her this strong young woman.

Too worn out to do anything else, she got into bed, turned on the light on her nightstand and grabbed her volume of _Good Girls Go To Heaven, Bad Girls Go Everywhere_ and began her evening ritual. So the strong women are always single? It was a subject that she wanted to study. That made no sense for her at the moment. Of course, she wasn't a strong woman, not yet but she wanted to think she could get there.

As she read further, she found out that some women try to be absolutely indispensable to everyone around them. Was that what she was trying to achieve? To make people depend on her? She wanted to think no. She couldn't be that selfish, could she?

And then there she was again, on the _Do women not know what they want _chapter, analyzing her relationship with Dylan. Ex-relationship, really. There were things that not even she could answer. Like, why would she want to experience the perks of having a good job and being a successful woman instead of getting married to an amazing guy who loved her? Sure, after her parents died, she swore she would make something out of her life and all her attention went to her studies, but was this the real reason? She trusted that she was right and she wanted to think that her choices were good, because if she would stop believing that, her whole world would come crushing down on her and all those years and the months spent in rehab would be for nothing.

She slowly drifted away, falling asleep with the book next to her and the light on.

_Elena screamed as the car rolled over and landed upside down. She couldn't breathe; the air was knocked out of her lungs. She started coughing, trying to catch her breath but it was futile. As she started to feel asphyxiated, the tears started to well in her eyes. Calm down, she told her drunken self. Panic, that was what she was feeling. She glanced at the front of the car and felt herself grow numb again. Her dad was bloodied, stuck between the seat and the steering wheel. His lower body was crushed. Her mom was still in her seat with her eyes closed. Too still. Elena didn't have to touch them to know. They were dead. She was an orphan. Still, she leaned forward and tried her best to wake them._

_"Mommy! Mom! Please, answer me!" Elena tried to shake the woman, but she didn't answer._

_Elena kept crying, begging, pleading for her to wake up, but she didn't. She was all alone. She could feel her breathing grow rapid once again. What was she supposed to do? They were on the side of the road, miles from the highway. Who was going to find them? She started to openly cry and kicked her legs frustrated. Finally, her mom opened her eyes for a moment._

_"Take care of your brother!" that's all she whispered before she was really dead._

_She didn't have a choice, so she did the only thing she could have done. She screamed her lungs out, praying that someone would hear her._

Elena awoke to the sound of her phone ringing. She groaned as she searched for it on the bed. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was 2:30 in the morning. She thought about Jeremy, who was at the hospital. What if he...? No, it was impossible, the doctor said he is going to be fine. She looked down at the screen and saw the photo of a blonde girl.

"Caroline," Elena cleared her throat and was about to ask her friend what happened, why she was calling so late in the night but she was interrupted by the girl's screams.

"I swear, I'm about to kill the Salvatores. Both of them." Caroline yelled into the phone, the noise was so disturbing that Elena had to take away the phone from her ear and hold it to distance.


	7. Some Nights

AN: Hey, here I am again, sooner rather than later. I am excited to read your review (please write some) to this chapter, because it's been so hard to write from Damon's POV and I've erased this like three times and wrote it all over again. Plus, this is the chapter where you find out about Katherine and she'll play and important role in this fanfiction. We all have to thank my beta for helping me out with this, because this chapter, like I said, has been hell to write. All these being said, enjoy the chapter and review it!

**So this is it? I sold my soul for this?**

**Washed my hands of that for this?**

**I miss my mom and dad for this?**

"Have a goodnight, Damon," the red-haired, petite girl said when he passed her.

"You want to have a good one with me?" he winked.

"Damon..." the girl stopped from arranging files and looked up at him.

"Tanya..." he whispered in his velvety voice. "Have yourself a goodnight. I'll see you on Monday," he said, rolling his eyes and threw his jacket over his shoulder as he entered the elevator.

Like many other nights, Damon left the office later than his normal schedule required. He lazily walked to his car and unlocked it. His penthouse was close to the company, in the center of Manhattan. His eyes began to sting from the tiredness, his headache worsened with every minute that passed by.

Finally home, he got rid of his suit and walked to the mini-bar, immediately finding his favorite whiskey and pouring a glass. He sat on the big couch in the living room and turned on the TV only to see his father's face on the news: Giuseppe Salvatore, benefactor of the abandoned children.

Damon scoffed and swallowed his whiskey. His father was only doing these kinds of things to get attention and to win more clients. It was obvious every time he spoke with him that he had no interest whatsoever in helping the people. It was such a shame to have such a parent. Sometimes he thought he would be better off without him.

Damon's relationship with Giuseppe was never the best but there was a time when he respected his father and admired him for being a family man and at the same time a businessman. But all that changed the day Stefan was born and his mother died. Instead of trying to compensate their loss with his presence, his father stepped aside and took refuge in work, whilst his boys were raised by nannies. This kind of life was no good for anyone and the fact that he understood this at a young age, made it easier for him in the years to come.

As the moment of his 18th birthday came, his father decided it was time for him to start learning how a successful company was run. The only thing Giuseppe was interested in was preparing Damon to take over his company when he would retire.

The ringing of his phone startled him. He grabbed it and looked at the screen to see that it was an unknown caller. He pressed the button and brought the phone up to his ear hastily.

"How may I help you?" the velvet voice was now a little bit hoarse.

"Is that the way to treat a lady?" the feminine voice from the other line asked and Damon rolled his eyes, annoyed.

"Katherine...What do you want?" his voice was back but the shadow of a good mood he was in disappeared.

"Why would you think I want something? Maybe I missed you," the sweet voice responded but Damon seemed more and more ready to hang up.

"Because that's always the thing with you, Katherine. You always want something. I'm about to hang up, so be quick," he warned.

"I need money," she began.

"What on earth makes you think I'd give you money?" Damon scoffed into the phone.

"Otherwise I'll tell the press everything," Katherine threatened and Damon's eyes opened wide with shock.

"You wouldn't," he whispered into the phone, his face paled.

"Oh, you know I would. You'll hear from me on Monday," she announced and hung up before Damon could even react.

He angrily walked to the bedroom and laid down on the bed, succumbing to the warmth and softness. His thoughts wandered to the woman who pushed all the right buttons to mess with his head. Again.

There was a time he had thought she was the love of his life. When he first met her he was mesmerized by the way she looked. As time went on, he also noticed how smart she was. She loved the things he loved; they had so much in common. The minutes were ages with her and he would've given up on everything for her to be his forever. He had been a love-struck idiot. But he didn't think that three years ago when he met her. It was just a typical night. He had gone out to have some fun with a few friends and of course, his little brother whom he was dragging out because he was spending too much time in the library reading his books.

And there she was, sitting on a stool at the bar, one leg draped over the other, sipping from her cocktail and giggling with her friend. He stared at her like she was an angel fallen from heaven. When she finally lay her eyes on him, he made his way towards her and offered her a drink, seducing her the best he could. But he had been the one seduced, which he realized recently after he saw her true colors. The night ended up with the two of them, naked, limbs locked in his bed in the penthouse he had owned since he graduated at 22.

He was young and in love. He would've done anything she asked of him. And she had been the first girl his father approved of because she was from a good family and her parents were in his social circle. That made him even happier because for once he had thought that his relationship with his father would finally be restored to what it used to be, that they would finally bond and be a real father-son team, like Stefan was with him.

And when he asked her to move in with him she seemed to be the happiest woman in the world. They happily lived together for two years until one day, happiness was no longer a thing in their relationship. She had come to him, tears rolling on her cheeks and her face pale like paper, confessing to him that she was pregnant. His world crashed down around him at her words. He hadn't been ready to have a child back then. He was only 24 and she was 22 herself. What would he do with that child? He would grow up knowing that his dad didn't want him so how could he do right by a child of his own.

His biggest fear was that he would end up like his own father, hating his child because he couldn't be what he wanted him to be. That was the moment when he decided he would never be a parent. Katherine's decision was the same as his. She would go and have an abortion and no one would ever know about it. It would be their secret and they would they would be brought closer because of it.

Things took their own course but they went nothing like he had imagined they would go. Because he hadn't planned for her to come to him one day and tell him she didn't love him, that she had never loved him. That had been the real moment when his world fell apart. That was the worse pain he'd ever gone through. He would've made it through if his child hated him but he couldn't make it through this.

It's been months since then and he was still broken. The only difference was that now, he didn't care about it anymore. It was like his feeling had been frozen forever and all he could do for a woman was sleep with her and afterwards tell her it was the first and the last time that would happen. He had ended up breaking more hearts than he could ever count but he didn't care.

And now, Elena showed up only to torture him. Her resemblance to Katherine was uncanny and it took all his willpower to stay away from her, but somehow he managed to bump into her as she was his brother's girlfriend's best friend. She seemed innocent, too innocent for him to destroy. But he didn't want to do it, she wouldn't become one of his victims.

He was woken up by the sound of the doorbell. He lazily stood up and walked to the door. Who on Earth would pay him a visit at 3 in the morning? He groaned and opened the door, staring at an overly excited Stefan leaning against the doorframe. He walked inside, not even paying too much attention to Damon.

"Stef-" he mumbled, trying to clear his throat.

"Katherine called," Stefan blurted out and Damon took a few seconds to process the information.

"This better be a joke, Stefan, because, you see, although I'm not in the best mood for jokes at 3 in the morning, I'd prefer this over you being serious about it," he spoke, his voice hoarse.

"I'm not joking. She called me, earlier in the night. I didn't know if I should come to you but I just couldn't sleep" his brother shook his head nervously.

"Why?" Damon rolled his eyes, confusion taking over his face all at once.

"Why what, Damon?" Stefan snaped, like he didn't understand his question. Damon was starting to get angry. What the hell was wrong with his brother? Sometimes he seemed to be worse than Blondie.

"Why did she call you?" Damon sighed and pinched the tip of his nose with his fingers, a sign that he was stressed out and very tired.

"Money. She wants money from me". He walked to the couch and made himself comfortable, just so he could listen to his brother for as long as he was going to speak. Stefan's words kicked him hard. When Katherine had called him, hours ago, she asked for money. Because she was blackmailing him. Why did he want money from Stefan?

He seriously wasn't in the mood to think about Katherine right now. He just wanted to go to sleep and then, tomorrow he could think about it with a clear mind.

"We'll talk tomorrow. I'll have lunch with you at your place" Damon announced.

"But-" Stefan began but was stopped by Damon who raised a hand to silence him. That was an obvious sign that he didn't want to talk about it now and so his brother simple nodded.

"If I'm here already. I want to ask you to stop treating Caroline like crap. I really love her, Damon. We're probably moving in together soon and I want you to like her, Damon," Stefan practically begged his brother to treat his girlfriend nice.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he rolled his eyes, not listening to his brother declaring his undying love for that imature person.

"Come on Damon, you have it in you. You can be nice. Just leave her be" Stefan pleaded. Damon knew that he was torn between the girl and him. He grimaced and with an annoyed voice, he spoke.

"I'll see what I can do but I can't promise anything, she's too much for me to deal with."

"That's not enough, Damon. Make an effort!" Stefan was starting to really piss him off and if he wasn't going to stop talking about the troll of his girlfriend, he was going to leave mad.

That was the thing with them. No matter how much they bickered, they would never stay mad at each other for more than a few hours. Their bond was unshakable; no one would ever break them apart. Not even their father succeeded with his behavior. Although there was a time when Damon had been jealous of Stefan for receiving their father's love, he realized that he didn't need it. He didn't need his compassion or love or affection or anything else from him.

"Ugh, buzz off, Stefan. I'll do my best to avoid the blondie and that should do the job," Damon nodded his head.

"That's not what you should do. If you avoid her, you avoid me as well, since I'm with her pretty much all the time. Just, be nice to her," Stefan patted his brother's shoulder.

"Whatever," Damon yawned and that was the sign Stefan needed to get off the couch and walk to the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Damon," he said and opened the door.

"Night, Stef," he said and stood up, ready to return to his bedroom, "Oh and…stop thinking about Katherine now. We'll deal with this tomorrow," he watched his brother pull a small smile before he took off.

That had been one hell of a night. It was far more eventful than his nights home alone usually were. The only night with more events had been the night Katherine left him. Nothing will ever top that. Damon lay back on the bed and when sleep came again, it was probably after he stopped thinking about Katherine.

When the sun filled his bedroom, Damon decided it was time to get off the bed and get ready for his visit to Stefan's. He wondered if last night had really happened or it was just the result of his overtired mind. Did Katherine really call him to ask for money, blackmailing him if she didn't get it? And did Stefan really come to him at 3 in the morning to tell him that she had had the guts to call and ask him for money too?

An hour later, he was sitting on Stefan's couch, savoring his whiskey while waiting for him and Caroline to finish their talk in the bedroom. When they finally made their appearance, he smiled widely, putting on his better face to welcome the blonde.

"Brother. Blondie," he nodded his head.

"You said he's going to be nice to me," Caroline whined and squeezed Stefan's arm. She looked like a spoiled child whose parents didn't buy sweets when she wanted some.

"Excuse me," Damon raised his hand to make himself heard, "nice doesn't involve me not calling you Blondie. I'll call you Blondie until the very end so you better get used to it." He smiled and swallowed a mouthful of whiskey.

"Asshole," she rolled her eyes before her gaze wandered to Stefan. "Baby, Elena's coming over in a bit, would you mind setting up the table while me and Damon decide what he's going to cook? Oh, and you better be nice to her," she pointed her finger at him as a warning.

So Elena was coming over. Were they celebrating something or what? She seemed to be present most of the times. The brunette was Caroline's best friend, her sister better said and it didn't surprise him if he would see her pretty often around. Not that he was bothered by her presence. Contrariwise, he could have such a good time admiring her beauty.

Damon's eyes snapped up to the couple and he shook his head. "No, I'm not cooking for you. You should've ordered food or maybe even cook yourselves. Not your slave. And for the record, me and Elena get along very well," he smirked.

"I still don't get how the two of you know each other. Would you care to enlighten me?" Caroline smiled sweetly at Damon who was already rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"That's for me to know and for you to dot-dot-dot" he gesticulated with his hand and stood up. "All you get is chicken Parmesan," he announced while he made his way to the kitchen.

The cooking genes ran deep in the Salvatore family and somehow, Damon was the one between the brothers who cared to use his talent.

As Caroline and Stefan were struggling to move some things in Stefan's apartment, the doorbell rang. Damon lazily moved from the counter where he was chopping the ingredients and opened the door, welcoming Elena with a smile. He noticed that this time she was wearing casual clothes, jeans and a nice top, indicating the fact that he wasn't the only one who hated formal clothes.

"Damon, hi, I didn't expect you to be here," she pulled a tiny smile.

"Just decided to have a nice time with my brother and his adorable girlfriend. In fact, I didn't expect to see you here," he winked and let her inside, motioning to her to follow him into the kitchen.

"Right" Elena smiled awkwardly, taking a seat on the stool near the counter.

"Do you know if Caroline wants to move in with Stefan? He mentioned something about it. Can you imagine me having tea with them every morning? Gross," he stuck his tongue out disgusted.

"She's not that bad once you get know her. She's been my best friend since we were babies. And no, I don't know. She didn't mention anything to me yet" Elena chuckled and her eyes wandered to Damon's hands.

He caught her gaze and smirked. "You can help me cook if you want to," he offered, pushing a bowl towards her.

"No, it's okay. I like to watch," she smiled embarrassed, causing Damon to burst into laughter.

"Please don't tell me you don't know how to cook," his eyes and mouth opened wide in shock. He could tell by her now reddened face that she couldn't cook, but he could have a little fun with this.

"I'm a mess in the kitchen," she blushed and stood up. She made an attempt to walk past him but he turned around, stopping her body from moving with his own. Their chests collided for a moment and he smirked when she let out a stuffed breath.

"I-I'm sorry, I wanted to get a glass and some water," she said, stepping aside and her head leaned down.

Damon shook his head in amusement and turned his back on her, walking over to the cupboard and getting a glass. Then, with slow movements, he opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water.

"Thanks," Elena said and poured some of the water into the glass. He watched how, with elegant moves, she lifted the glass to her lips and gracefully sipped.

He was staring. He knew he was but he just couldn't help himself. She looked so much like Katherine and now she was doing that thing Katherine did when he first saw her. And she was so different at the same time. She wasn't as cocky as Katherine, she seemed shy but he knew that she wasn't. He had talked to her that night at the bar and she had been more than willing to carry a conversation.

"So, how are things with your boyfriend?" Damon asked and sat on a stool, waiting for the food to be done. For once Caroline had been intelligent and dragged Stefan around the house, moving some things, while he had time to talk to Elena as much as he wanted.

"Well, we're-" Elena was interrupted by Caroline's squeak. The blonde was running towards them, jumping and singing at the same time. Scratch that, she wasn't intelligent anymore.

"Elena!" she ran to her best friend and hugged her, like she hadn't seen her in ages. "How is Jeremy?"

"He's fine," Elena nodded her head. "He's home with Jenna, I passed by before I came here."

"Good. So, what are you two talking about?" the blonde questioned, her gaze moving from Elena to Damon and back to her friend, before repeating the process again.

"We're trying to picture how you and Stefan have sex, Blondie," Damon threw her his big smirk.

"You know, Damon, for someone who graduated from Harvard, you have a thick skull and a tiny brain and I really think you should stop with snarky comments like these!" Caroline's finger pushed into Damon's chest with all her power.

"Make me stop," he provoked her and she just rolled her eyes before glancing back to her friend.

"How can you say he's not an asshole?" Caroline asked Elena but she just shrugged her shoulders. Right then, Stefan entered the kitchen and Damon breathed out, relieved that he didn't have to stay alone with his brother's crazy girlfriend.

"Finally!" he mumbled annoyed. "I have to talk to you."

"Sure" Stefan narrowed his eyes.

"Not here," his brother pointed to the living room and without any other word, they both left the girls alone in the kitchen and they walked to the living room and sat on the couch. "Katherine," Damon sighed and didn't say any other word. This wasn't going to be a constructive discussion at all. A tiring and messed up one, yes.

Stefan was the only person who knew everything about Katherine. He knew about the pregnancy and he didn't judge him. He was the only person who would never judge him, no matter what he did. Stefan would only be there for him and Damon was so grateful for this single good thing in his life that was his brother.

And there was this thing that bugged him. The fact that Katherine called his little brother to ask for money. What game was she playing with him? Or with them both? And most important, what was Stefan's business in this story?

"I can't figure why she asked you for money too. She asked money from me too. But she's blackmailing me", Damon's voice was worried and low as he tried not to be heard by the two feminine presences in the apartment.

"What?" Stefan's eyes opened wide and his mouth dropped, not saying a single word after.

"How is she blackmailing you?"

"You know how, Stefan" Damon's voice pointed out the obvious and his brother nodded.

"We all know Katherine. She's all talk, Damon" Stefan tried to warm the situation but Damon knew he wasn't right. If there was a person who truly knew Katherine's boundaries, that person was him.

"No, Stef. Not when she wants to tell the press everything. And I'm sure that she can persuade that doctor to be a witness. She has her ways," Damon shook his head, accepting the situation. He would give her the money and be done with everything once and for all. Then, he wouldn't hear from her ever again in his lifetime.

"But she can't do that. She'll destroy both our family and hers!" Stefan's voice was filled with worry now.

"Do you think she cares? She doesn't. She didn't go back home after leaving me. All she cares about is herself. I'll give her the money and be done with all this," Damon nodded his head, as if to agree with his words, to be sure he won't back down and let Katherine destroy all he had built.

"When?" Stefan's glance wandered to Caroline but his attention was still to his brother.

"On Monday. She said she'd call. I'm not giving her any money until she tells me what she wants from you." Damon's eyes narrowed, a thought haunting him all of a sudden. "Are you hiding something from me, Stefan? Something related to Katherine and you?"

"What? No, of course not. What would I have to hide from you? And why would I be related to Katherine in any way? Jeez, Damon!" Stefan's voice was burdened with anger and Damon knew that it was because he was questioning him. He shouldn't be doing that. Stefan was the only person that would never betray him.

"I'm sorry. That was a dick move. Forget it"

"Let's go. Caroline's going to suspect something's wrong and I don't want to worry her," Stefan stood up and walked into the kitchen, but Damon waited a few more minutes.

His eyes found Elena and he stared at her for a few moments. She was smiling but her face seemed emotionless as she watched the couple kissing. She was like him; alone. They both were outsiders in this place and Caroline and Stefan's every single kiss tortured them both.

That had been the most annoying lunch he had ever had. If it weren't for Elena who entertained him most of the time, he would've probably his napkin in Caroline's face and left. All she could talk about was how excited she was that Elena was starting to work, how she would advise her about the clothes she should wear and that in her free time she could model for her creations. Poor Elena just smiled and nodded her head in agreement with her best friend, not daring to confront her and say she didn't want any of those things Caroline was setting her up for.

When dessert came, he had already reached the highest degree of annoyance but he just bit his tongue for his brother's sake. They moved to the living room but his brother and Blondie were so preoccupied with their public displays of affection that they didn't even notice when he and Elena snuck away from them and hid in one of the bedrooms.

"Thank God. I couldn't stay in there for one more second," Damon propped himself up on the bed before Elena sat next to him, smiling.

"Caroline can be...annoying," Elena admitted and chuckled.

"Can? She is. All the time," Damon smirked. "You didn't get a chance to answer to my question. About your boyfriend," he reminded her when she seemed lost.

"Oh, about that," her face gave her up and he could see the pain and for a moment he was sorry he brought it up. "We broke up," she shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I heard some of what he said that night. He isn't right, you know. Everybody should be able to gain something on their own in life before making these hard decisions. If I were you, I would've made the same choice. If he can't understand that, he doesn't love you enough," Damon caught her gaze and looked into her eyes, where he saw tears glistening.

She simply nodded, not being able to say something else for a moment. "You're right. I do want to have something that's mine and my work will be mine, no one will be able to take it away from me. He loves me. No, he loved me. Now he hates me," Elena's tears rolled down her cheeks.

"He actually hates himself for being so stupid and letting you go. He hates that he's not with you," Damon shrugged. Since when did he become this good advisor? From what he remembered, he didn't know what to do when Katherine left him and now he was telling Elena all these things and it made him question his beliefs. He didn't know why but he felt close to this girl who was in pain over the loss of her boyfriend. He wanted to help her but he wasn't sure that he knew how.

"It's weird. Caroline said the same thing," Elena pointed out and tried to pull a small smile.

"Well, I guess me and Blondie are able to think alike. But just once every few years," Damon smiled and leaned closer to her. His thumb reached her face and he wiped away the tears from her cheeks. Her breathing accelerated and again, he could hear her try to catch air in her lungs. Her lips were slowly parted as the air filled her nostrils and exited her organism through the slight opening.

"Thank you, Damon. You just keep saving me these days. I actually think that you're the only person that's ever helped me so much," she breathed out before she reached him and slowly put her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder for a few seconds before she pulled away. Her gesture surprised him and for a moment, he was stunned.

"You have a friend in me, Elena, okay?" he finally found his words and smiled kindly. What was he doing? He wasn't friends with women. He slept with them. He didn't know how to be friends with them. Though in that moment, he could use a friend who was in the same situation as him. They were both suffering from the same ailment; the loss of their love.

"What's going on here? Elena?" Caroline's voice crept inside the bedroom and she was now an intruder between the two of them. The blonde's eyes wandered to the two of them, sitting on the bed, very close to each other.

"Nothing's going on, Caroline," Elena assured her and stood up before Damon.

"Oh, is that so? Then why are you two alone in here?" her friend's judgmental tone could not be missed.

Damon just looked at them and didn't say anything. He knew that an intervention by him on this one would lead to him having a fight with Stefan and right now, that was the last thing he wanted to happen.

"I was looking for the bathroom and Damon led me to the one here. Then we just sat and talked. Okay?" she asked and watched how the frown from Caroline's face disappeared.

"We're not done with this. And you," she pointed to Damon who was chilling on the bed, "your brother said you should go to the living room. There's someone named Katherine here for you."

Damon jumped up from the bed immediately as he heard Katherine's name. Hearing it sent shivers down his spine and he wanted the ground to swallow him so he couldn't be tortured by her presence. What was she doing there? How did she find him? He froze on the spot with the two women staring blankly at him.

* * *

AN: Hmm, what's going to happen next? You'll have to stay tuned to find out! Tell me your opinions about what happened in this chapter.


	8. Atlanta

_****_AN: Here we are again! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about this story, or about you, the readers. It's just an exam period at school and my time for writing is slightly diminished. Worry not tho, because I will keep updating as soon as possible. Many thanks to my beta for helping me go through this. I wouldn't be able to post so often without her help. Now, let's get into the chapter! Enjoy it and send in your opinions!

_**And all the tears I've cried**_

_**If I can make it there, I'll see you on the other side**_

_**And all I never learned**_

'_**Cause I'm a thousand miles from Atlanta**_

_**Beneath a thousand pounds of hurt**_

Damon finally moved from his spot on the bed and Elena's eyes followed his every move. He stopped a few inches away from Caroline and looked her right in the eyes, like he was trying to make sure of something. His whole body tensed and his jaw was clenched, the only emotion notable was in his bright blue eyes.

Elena wondered who this Katherine woman was and why she had this effect on Damon. Well, she would probably find out soon enough.

"Caroline," Damon mumbled and gently cleared his throat. It was the first time Elena had heard him calling her friend by her name. "Are you sure Stefan said Katherine?"

"I may be blonde but I'm not deaf," Caroline's sarcastic tone did nothing to cut the tension in the room.

It didn't take more than a second for Damon to rush out of the room and run to the living room. The girls followed him immediately and just froze in the corner of the living room, watching how Damon was staring at the woman in front of him. She was very beautiful.

"She kinda looks like you. Or you kinda look like her. Whatever," Caroline whispered in Elena's ear but she simply nodded. She was right. This Katherine unmistakably resembled her.

The woman cleared her throat before speaking and looked at Stefan before turning to Damon.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your party, Stefan." To any stranger, Katherine's words would've sounded sincere but the Salvatore's knew her better.

"What are you doing here, Katherine?" Damon snapped, gaining her attention and everybody else's once again.

"Have you completely lost your manners, love?" she asked, her voice soft. She had straight hair and she wore totally different clothes but Elena couldn't stop comparing their similarities.

"I am_ not _your _love,_" Damon hissed through his teeth and he grabbed her wrist, squeezing at it.

"Ouch, you're hurting me," she smirked dangerously, provoking Damon with every single thing she did. It was amazing what impact that woman had over him. Elena thought no one could make him that angry, not even Caroline.

"What are you doing here?" he asked again, this time his voice was back to normal, his eyes flashing at her. She forcefully withdrew her arm and rubbed her wrist.

"I want my money," she stated flatly with one hand resting on her hip and the other draped across her body.

"You said you'd call on Monday."

"I've changed my mind. I want it now. Did I mention how much? No? 5 million." she shrugged indifferently, like she was talking about the weather. Elena's mouth dropped hearing the huge amount of money she was requesting from Damon. Who was that woman and why was she asking him for money? And most of all, why did he act like this with her?

"Do you think I walk around with 5 million dollars in my pocket? You have to wait until Monday so I can go to the bank. Don't you dare say anything to anyone, Katherine, or I swear to God, I'm going to destroy you and you know that I can," his words were loaded with hate and disgust towards Katherine.

Elena watched the scene, terrified that one moment he could snap and hurt her but he seemed to manage the situation quite well. She couldn't believe he was talking like this with someone. Katherine must've really screwed up if he was so mad. And what did he mean with _do not tell anyone_? What could she possibly have to say about him that was so important?

"Why did you ask Stefan for money, Katherine?" Damon asked the woman and Elena noticed that Stefan's glance followed Damon's movements. He seemed to be related to this Katherine as well.

"Because that's another story to be told," the brunette smirked dangerously. Elena frowned. She didn't understand a thing and nor did she want to. Whatever the brothers' relationship with this woman was, it was a messed up one.

"What does that even mean?" Damon asked but he didn't get an answer.

"I'll call you on Monday. Don't you forget, Damon, the press would be thrilled to interview me. Can you imagine? I can almost see the front pages of all the newspapers. Damon Salvatore and Katherine Piece, a-"

"Shut up!" Damon wailed before he grabbed her arm and carried her to the door, opening it up and pushing her over the threshold. "I'll see you on Monday. And hopefully it will be the last time," he slammed the door closed and when he came back into the living room, there was a tiny smile on his face.

Elena looked at him and he caught her stare, before nodding briefly in her direction, trying to assure her that everything was fine. But everything wasn't fine. She didn't understand a single thing that was going on there. Who was that woman who she looked like and what did she do to Damon to receive that amount of hate from him?

"So, this didn't happen," he shrugged almost indifferently. It was amazing how he seemed to be totally unaffected by it. She wished she could be like that. She wanted not to care about her breakup with Dylan but she just couldn't.

"Who was that?" Caroline rushed to ask.

"That was Katherine. A sweetie pie, right?" Damon rolled his eyes. "But this didn't happen. Stop asking things Blondie. My life is not your business."

"It is when you're in my future house," she stuck her tongue out. If she didn't stop doing things to annoy him, he would probably snap at her and that would end up not good for anyone.

"So it's already your house? Don't you think it's too soon? I wonder how long it will be before you show your true colors, you know. You're exactly like her. You're just like Katherine," he yelled, pointing his finger in her direction but she didn't do anything, she just stood there, waiting for the moment when she would reply.

"Damon! Don't compare Caroline to Katherine. She's nothing like her and you know it," Stefan came from behind him and settled between his brother and his girlfriend.

"Bullshit. All she cares about is your money. And you'll see it and you'll regret getting involved with her because she's going to be a bitch like Katherine!"

It was enough to make Stefan throw a punch at Damon's jaw, catching him by surprise.

"Asshole!" Stefan said and looked at his brother's shocked face. Caroline began crying and Elena was just there, staring. This wasn't her world; she had nothing to do there. That was between the brothers and her best friend. She was the one who eventually was going to be a part of the Salvatore family, because she was sure that Caroline would end up married with Stefan. It was a fact.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Damon narrowed his eyes and left the apartment as soon as he could, not saying anything else to anyone.

"I'm sorry. He didn't mean it," Stefan pulled Caroline in his arms, trying to console her.

"Of course he did. He compared me to that woman. I don't even know who she is. Who is she, Stefan?" Caroline cried into his chest, her sobs muffled by his shirt.

"She's not important. Come on, we don't have to spend the rest of the day upset like this. Damon was mad, he didn't mean it," Stefan soothed her the best he could do.

"I think I'll go home now. Leave you two alone," Elena pulled a tiny smile. She couldn't be there anymore. She didn't know what to do and she obviously didn't want to feel like the third wheel.

"I'm sorry you had to witness this," Stefan shrugged in compensation at his loss for words. "I hope I'll see you again with us," he smiled while rubbing Caroline's back.

"Of course. Bye, Caroline," she nodded her head and picked up her bag as she walked out the door.

Finally outside, she breathed in the stuffy air, thankful that she got out of there. Her steps were soft on the street, the light of the day guiding her way back home.

But she didn't feel like going home now. She decided to visit her brother at the hospital. So she started walking in the opposite direction, her thoughts slowly wandering to the scene she had just witnessed in Stefan's apartment.

That woman, Katherine...she must've been or still was an important person in Damon's life. All she knew was that whatever their relationship has been before, now it was a rough one. She still couldn't process what happened there. Damon being so angry and rude to a woman, even one that was as repulsive as this Katherine. Elena really hoped she would never see him like that again.

Later on, she was sitting in Jeremy's hospital room, trying to convince him to stay in one more day, but failing miserable.

"Jeremy, you should really stay the night. I'll come get you tomorrow, okay?" she pleaded but her brother was wandering through the room, looking for his clothes.

"No, 'Lena. I'm fine. I want to go home. Where are my clothes?"

"Down there. I'll pass them to you. Stubborn little thing" she mumbled under her breath while getting his clothes from the closet.

"I can hear you, you know," Jeremy rolled his eyes.

"That wasn't something you weren't supposed to hear. Come on, get dressed and let's go." She walked outside and waited a few minutes in the hallway, until her brother was finally ready.

For half of the way back home they were quiet, neither of them saying anything. But Elena couldn't shut up forever. She was really worried about her brother. She wasn't going to watch him destroy himself a little bit more every day, until there would be nothing else to destroy.

"Why are you doing this, Jer?" she asked, looking up at him, but noticing that he was avoiding her eyes.

"Why are we all doing what we do, Elena? That's my way of handling the pain. Yours is to be a workaholic. I don't want to make you feel bad, but I'm sure you remember those days, when your way of handling was to cut into your skin and try out every single pill you found in the house. It's not easy for me either. But I've never complained. I felt that if I complained too, if I broke down too, then our family - what was left of it - would fall apart in a blink of an eye," Jeremy said, his voice low and his eyes focused on the ground as they walked.

She didn't know what to say. She never thought like that about her brother. Her little brother, who was just a kid when all of it happened. He didn't deserve this. It was now when she started to realize how much pain she had caused. But unfortunately for everyone, it was too late to go back and change things.

"And I know that you probably think that I was too young to be aware of the depth of the situation, but I wasn't. I've never told anyone, not even Jenna. And I'm not saying this to you now to blame you or bring up bad memories, but to make you understand that it wasn't easy for me either. And the drugs, they helped me to forget for a while. They made me feel like they were still here, even if they weren't."

"Jer...," she was speechless. "I know that it wasn't easy. I never thought it was. But you must understand, those things..they're not good for you. They feed you illusions, only to break you again when reality sets in. Now you're not a kid anymore. You know what's good and what's bad. I trust you will only choose the good from now on. I won't be able to live if anything like this - or worse - happens to you again. Can you promise me, please?" Elena grabbed hold of his hand and looked him straight in the eyes.

She could see in them the little Jeremy running around the house in Mystic Falls, trying to win the game and humiliate his older sister in front of their parents, the sleepy boy from the nights when she would tuck him in his bed and sit right next to him, reading him stories. Their mom would open the door to their room and put her to bed too, kiss their foreheads and turn off the lights, murmuring a sweet and full of love _goodnight_. There was nothing left of that boy, nor of that girl anymore. They were just two people too broken to be that happy again, but strong enough to live and go on with their lives.

Jeremy nodded shortly before breaking the eye contact with Elena. She knew it was because he wasn't feeling good.

"I promise. I want to build myself a career, like you. I want us to be happy, 'Lena. I want us to still be a family" he spoke and she let go of his hand only to hug him and kiss his cheek. She was amazed of how much her brother has grown up, of how wise he has become. Not even the drugs could change that.

The rest of the walk back home was much better. They talked about Jeremy's plans for this fall, when he would start college. She was more excited about the conversation than he was. She couldn't wait to see her brother's paintings in exhibits and wealthy people coming to buy his art.

"Jenna! We're here," Elena announced as they made their way inside. She helped Jeremy get to the couch and sit.

"Oh, good, finally. You're late. I've ordered something," Jenna rambled and hurried to bring the Chinese food to the table in the living room.

"I had lunch with Stefan and Caroline. Do you mind if I go home? I need a shower and some rest. I didn't really have a nice night," Elena smiled awkwardly. The only thing she had promised not to do after she moved out was to bail on family time and she was doing exactly that.

"Sure, that's fine," her aunt nodded. The look on Jenna's face made her feel bad for leaving. She knew that her aunt wanted her to stay but she knew Jeremy had to talk to her. Besides, she felt like going home. It was so weird to call home an apartment where she spent just a night, but that's what it was; her home.

"You know what to do," she whispered to Jeremy as she leaned down to kiss his forehead and he simply nodded.

Somewhere along in the multitude of her thoughts, there was a foreign one haunting her. And she couldn't get it out as much as she had tried to. This day wasn't a normal one, not at all. And as much as she wanted to think only about her family and her life, about how happy she was now that she had had that talk with her brother, that he had promised to stop ruining his life, she couldn't stop thinking about the scene in Stefan's apartment.

Damon, Stefan, Caroline - their fight - kept running through her mind like a scene from a movie on repeat. And then there was that woman, who she practically resembled- Katherine. The reason of the fight itself. Elena didn't picture Damon as a bad guy. Not at all. And she would probably never be able to, because he saved her. He saved her multiple times and she just couldn't think that low of him, like her friend Caroline did.

It was wrong to trust him for so many reasons and mainly because he was a stranger to her. She should probably trust her friend, she knew him better, but there was something about him. Something that made her believe he wasn't the villain, but instead, someone like her. Someone hurt, misunderstood. Someone with a story to tell but with no one to listen.

Elena was lazily walking back home. She didn't really have a reason why to be home early. She just wanted to get there and lay on the bed until Monday morning, when everything would start. When she would be ready to bring good things in her life.

Two blocks away from her apartment, she saw a familiar face, walking desolate towards a car she recognized. She knew both the man and the car. It was an idiot thing to do, but she did it immediately, not thinking about anything.

"Damon!" her voice was pitched but her purpose was achieved. He turned around and started to walk towards her, a small smile playing on his lips. She noticed a red spot on his jaw, proof of the punch he received from his brother.

"Elena. Nice to see you again. So soon" he said and pointed to his car. "I was about to take off. Do you need a ride somewhere?"

"I was going home. It's okay, I don't need a ride. What are you doing in Manhattan though?" she asked but she regretted doing it the next second. It was none of her business and she didn't know why she stopped him in the first place. Maybe to check if he was fine?

"Visiting a friend. Are you free for a coffee? We didn't have the chance to pick up where we left with out discussion," Damon's eyes flashed to her own, catching her full attention.

Elena tried to remember what he was talking about. What discussion did they have unfinished? The one about her and Dylan, probably. She shook her head and smiled uncomfortable.

"I don't want to occupy your time, I'm sure you're pretty busy. Besides, I should get home and-"

"Come on, it's Saturday. What could you possibly have to do?" he smirked, that smirk that amazed Elena but still made her question his intentions.

"Well, I'm going to work on Monday and I still have so much to do and I don't think it's a good idea, especially after what happened earlier," she deadpanned. That was one of the main reasons why she wasn't sure she should take him on his invitation. It would be weird and she knew it.

"Nothing happened earlier, it's not important. I won't hold you up for too long. One hour, maybe?" he ran a hand through his tousled hair, a gesture that she found to be more like a twitch to him. "But if you really don't want to, it's okay, I won't insist," he finally said.

She couldn't just say no to him. She owed him not just one, but a lot of things. With a short sigh, she nodded her head and her lips curled into a tiny smile.

"Fine. I'll go."

"The car is actually that way," he pointed to the black SUV parked in front of the block, when she began to slowly walk.

"I'd prefer walking. Do you mind?"

Damon frowned, looking surprised, as if she just told him to try walking on his hands. When he nodded, she simply pointed the direction and waited for him to catch up with her.

"You're so weird, Elena Gilbert."

"So I've heard," she giggled. Damon's phone started to ring and she waited patiently as he withdrew it from his back pocket and answered, his voice sharp. And if voices could kill someone through the phone, he would be a serial killer, she could bet on it.

"Tanya! You're there? Okay, I'll be on my way. Yes, 20 minutes," he hung up the phone and glanced to Elena, his face wearing a shade of regret. "Elena, I'm so sorry, I can't make it to coffee. I have this problem and I have to go. I'll get you home. And...I owe you a coffee" he apologized and for a second, she felt like he was really sorry for bailing on her.

"That's-that's okay, don't worry. You go and solve your problems. You don't owe me anything, Damon. In fact, I owe you for saving me," she smiled and tried to make it believable. She didn't have a reason to be mad, but she felt bad that she couldn't go out with him.

"I'll get you home."

"No. I want to walk back home. I feel like walking. Thanks for your offer though." The smile on her face fell and for an unknown reason she was mad. Mad that he was now leaving after insisting so much for her to take him on that coffee.

"I guess I'll see you around, Elena." Damon said nonchalantly and he turned around, leaving her hanging.

"I guess so…" she began, but her words faded in the thin air and they never got to Damon's ears.

With small but quick steps she walked to the next apartment building and upstairs to her own small apartment. Once she closed the door, she left all the problems outside and succumbed to the warmth her home offered her, at least for a while, until she worried about everything once again.

Tick, tock, tick, tock... Elena turned on her back and extended her hand to stop the little clock from ringing. It was only 7 am but she had to be up and ready for her first day of work. The weekend went by so fast, she didn't even feel Sunday going by, when she just laid in the bed, reading Shakespeare and listening to music. Her phone was turned off, as it was her last day of freedom.

Thirty minutes later, Elena was out of the shower and naked in front of the closet, trying to pick out some clothes appropriate for a first day on a new job. After trying three different dresses, she picked the one Caroline told her to wear, deciding that her friend was the specialist in the fashion department. Definitely, she was, because the black outfit made her look like someone who just walked on the red carpet. Add the stilettos and you have a star.

She left her apartment no later than 8 and decided to take a cab as she didn't want to start what should be a perfect day with the horrible smell of a bus. Punctuality wasn't a forte just for her, but to everyone at the office and that was why she was there at 8:20, 10 minutes early, ready to start her day with great strengths.

"Hello. You're Elena Gilbert, aren't you? The new employee?" a tall blonde approached her.

Elena nodded enthusiastic. "Yes, I am." She extended her hand to the blonde woman and she shook it happily. The blonde seemed to be in her early thirties but she looked impeccable, dressed in a white skirt and a black blouse.

"I'm Diana Moore. The editor-in-chief. I'm glad to have you here." The woman named Diana walked to an area full of desks and computers, motioning for Elena to follow her.

"I'm happy to be here." She followed, while looking around, surprised by the way people really worked in a place like this. It looked like her desk was next to a tall red-haired woman, a very beautiful one, she could say, because Diana stopped right in front of it and put a little piece of paper on it, with the password for the computer.

"This is your desk. Whatever you will need is here. You will get the duties list in your e-mail, daily. If something's wrong, you come to me. Good luck!" the blonde smiled when she finally finished her little speech and turned in the other directions, entering an office.

Happy with what she had achieved today, Elena stood up and straightened her jacket and let her hair down from the ponytail she was wearing. Her glance wandered to Diana's office and she was about to walk to it, when she had heard some voices down the hallway and her name.

She walked to the open door and stopped next to it, trying to hear what her colleagues were saying. She shouldn't do that; she knew that listening to other people's discussions was inappropriate.

_ "God, I hate that new girl. She only got hired because she had good references from her Dean while we had to work hard to get here. I'm sure Diana will promote her as quick as you snap your fingers", _one of the girls said.

Elena's feet started to move in the other direction. She couldn't stay there and listen to that anymore. Her hopes had just been thrown on the floor. With light steps, avoiding to be heard, she walked to Diana's office and knocked before pushed the door open just a little bit.

"I just wanted to say that I'm leaving. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Great! Oh, Elena? How was your first day?" the blonde asked, her eyes sparkling with interest. You could tell she was a good person.

"It's been good, thanks." She smiled politely and left the office, walking to the main door and outside into the damp air. Elena inhaled the fresh air and stopped the tears from falling. Waving her hand, she hailed a cab and climbed inside, ready to go home.

She couldn't cry because people didn't like her. In life, you had to be tough to win, to survive. She was going to make it. But right now, she felt an unexplained urge to talk to someone who wasn't one of her friends. She wouldn't complain about that to them. With rapid moves, she withdrew her phone from the purse and quickly dialed a number.

"Stefan? Hi, it's Elena. Can you give me your brother's number, please?"


	9. All the same to me

**__**AN: Chapter 8, eh. I think you will like how the story goes on so far, but that's just my opionion, I'm going to have to wait for your reviews in order to see what you think. Thanks to Britt who helps me throughout this because without her, I would probably take more than a week to post this chapter. Enjoy it!

_**I won't run when the sky turns to flame,**_

_**And I sure won't budge**_

_**When the earth does shake.**_

_**When the flood comes up,**_

_**I will dance in the rain**_

_**'Cause it's all the same to me.**_

Elena sat on the bar stool, puffed out her cheeks and blew the air out, disappointed. She had so many reasons to be disappointed that it was useless to point them all out in front of someone. She was disappointed because she was such a heartless bitch who left her boyfriend because she was scared that if she got married she would watch her life pass by and when the moment came to sum up her accomplishments, she would have none; disappointed because she couldn't make people around her to believe in her and in her power to get things on her own. And right now, she was so enraged that she had called him.

She shouldn't have done that. Not after he ditched her for work. But in spite of this, Elena felt like he was the only person she could talk to about this, because he would understand her. If there was one thing she had found out since she met him, it was the fact that they had things in common. She didn't know how many yet, but she knew for a fact that they were bound by the pain they both felt.

"Elena," a feather-like voice made itself heard and she turned her head to be welcomed by a pair of perfect blue eyes.

"Damon. Thanks for coming. I know you're a busy man." She smiled awkwardly but when he returned the gesture, she warmed up her expression and felt relief take over her body.

"I'm always free for friends. Let's go sit on the couch over there." His chin was pointed to a white couch in the corner. "Two whiskeys," he threw some bills to the barman and glanced over to Elena.

She followed him in silence and sat on the couch beside him. "I don't usually drink whiskey, it gives me headaches," she deadpanned but stopped when Damon waved a finger in her face.

"Tut, tut, tut. You called me and I came. I get to call the shots today. Plus, you need it, I can tell." Damon's blue eyes flickered with joy and she couldn't help but smile enthusiastically. "So, what's up?"

"I don't even know where to start. It's just so stupid, you know, complaining about this silly thing but I just didn't want to talk to Caroline about it. She just…doesn't understand," Elena mumbled, her thumbs drawing circles on the glass.

"Elena...Just calm down and tell me what's wrong." Damon's words made Elena feel more confident and she started to talk, knowing he would understand. She didn't know why she trusted so much that he would understand, but she simply did.

"Everyone thinks I got the job because I was my Dean's favourite. And I know I was but I swear this wasn't because of his favoritism. I applied for this job and I worked hard to get here."

"Oh my God. Elena! Why do you care about what the others think?" Damon's voice was full of irony and she felt criticized at first, but when he sighed she just shrugged.

"Look...You _can't _care about what others think or say. Because if you do, you'll never get where you want to go and this will mark your entire life. Look at me. I'm 26. And I've got this job that I couldn't give less fucks about. But I've gotta do it because I promised my father that I would. But he doesn't give a damn about me. And I'll never have a dream career like you. So you better enjoy it, because it's once in a lifetime." His confession pierced through her brain and she seriously started to wonder what was wrong with this man who seemed to be the ideal friend for someone, the ideal son for a father, because lately, all she heard was that people hated him.

"Then why keep doing it? You don't seem like a guy who can be...how do I put it- made to do something he doesn't want to do." Elena confessed and as soon as the words left her mouth, Damon couldn't help but frown.

"I-I have no idea. I guess I'm just fine with it now, after all these years. It's useless to try something else because let's be honest, I'd suck at everything." Damon's laugh was contagious and he managed to steal a giggle from her.

"Come on. I'm sure you don't suck at _everything_. You're a really good listener." She blushed crimson but still managed to muster a tiny smile. She wasn't a person who was trusted easily but with Damon it seemed so easy to be herself.

"You don't even know me. But now, let me tell you, Elena. You should give yourself more credit. You're not going to get anywhere if you keep thinking that your coworkers are right. Keep your head high and your self esteem even higher. That's the only way you'll get where you really want to be."

His words burrowed deep into her mind and all she could think about was the fact that he was a good advisor and that he could be a very good friend to her. One that would be able to listen and not criticize her like Bonnie and Caroline do.

"Thank you so much, Damon. You have no idea how much your words mean to me. You've given me confidence. And for the record, I'd like to get to know you better. You're a good person."

His mouth opened as if to say something but he dropped the thought and watched her intently, with those blue eyes shimmering into her brown ones. The girl had no idea how someone could hate a man like Damon. He was, indeed, a very helpful person.

"Oh, you're going to be sorry for saying that in a few weeks. Now, where were we? Getting to know each other better, right?" He asked but the answer came back from him. "That means, you can come to me whenever you need to talk. I know Caroline's a judgy little thing that can't understand anyone else but herself. Actually, I don't think she even understands herself."

"Damon... She's not that bad. None of you are. You've got to stop thinking like that." Elena rolled her eyes at him.

"But isn't that what you do as well? Think low of yourself?" His stoicism made her want to pull at her hair because all she was saying was immediately contradicted by him.

"Touché," she smiled and drank the rest of the whiskey from the glass she was holding in her right hand.

"What would you say if I offered you a job?" Damon's voice echoed in her ears like drums at a concert.

"What?"

"Oh, you heard me."

"No..I..," she shook her head in dissaproval. "That's not the way to deal with my problems. I have to face them. Didn't you say that just a few minutes ago? If I say yes to what you're proposing, it would make them think I'm weak and indeed, a fake. I can't, I'm sorry."

"That's what I wanted to hear. But just for the record, the offer still stands. I do need a journalist at the office. Think about it." With these words, Damon stood up and leaned over to brush his lips over Elena's cheeks. With a shy move, she returned it and smiled confidently.

"I will. Thank you, Damon."

"Whenever you need me, you know where to find me."

Her glance followed him until the moment the door shut behind him. For a second, her eyes glistened with tears but she inhaled deeply and didn't allow them to burst free. Instead, she smiled, reassuring herself that all was going to be fine, that she is going to be able to face everyone. At the end of the day, she was Elena Gilbert.

_"Look, here comes Elena. What is she wearing?" Caroline whispered to the red-haired girl next to her, who simply shrugged as Elena approached them._

_ "Hey, guys. So, what's on the schedule for today?" Elena's dress fluttered in the wind as she walked past the gang of boys to the girls waiting for her near the door. _

_ "I was thinking maybe you should tell us about you masterplan? You know, about Elliot. Right, Meredith?" Caroline's look scrutinized the red-haired girl and she nodded fiercely, agreeing with the blonde girl. _

_ "Oh...sure," a mischevious smile played on Elena's lips and she slowly bit the corner of her lower lip. "I'm going to make him pay for rejecting me. I'm going to kiss him right in front of his new girlfriend. She's going to run the hills when she sees us. This way, everyone will know what I'm capable of."_

_ "Are you serious? You're really going to do that?" Meredith's eyes opened wide, the shock visible in them._

_ "Oh, of course she will. At the end of the day, she's Elena Gilbert." Caroline smirked dangerously, her eyes flashing powerful._

A while after getting home, Elena was nestled in her bed, with her laptop opened. She was typing furiously, determinedly writing her next chapter, when suddenly, her phone started to buzz.

"Hello," her sweet voice answered.

_ "What are you doing going out with Damon, Elena?"_ the voice on the other end screamed.

"Caroline…are you following me?"

_ "Don't be silly, of course not," _the blonde said, her voice indicating her irritation.

"Then how do you know I was with him?" Elena countered. All of a sudden, she was very interested in what Caroline did today and how she knew that she went out with Damon. Of course, Caroline made it pretty clear that she didn't like the guy, but to follow her around like a stalker, making her feel like an errant child, was taking it too far.

_"I was heading home from work and passed by the bar. Saw you two there, serenely having a chat, over a glass of whiskey. What are you doing, Elena? I told you to stay away from him. You're just going to get hurt." _

"Oh my god, Caroline. Do you hear yourself? He's my friend. Stop acting like you're my mother, because you're not. It's my business if I want to go out with him or not. And trust me, I've been hurt so many times in my life, that I feel like I'm immune to all of this." Elena snapped, shutting Caroline's up.

_ "Do as you wish, Elena. But don't come to me crying when he hurts you." _With a sigh, the blonde girl hung up the phone, leaving Elena with unspoken words in her mouth.

Now, this was the silliest thing she had ever done in her life; defending a guy she barely knew. It was unacceptable but still, because it was about Damon, it was almost a normal thing to do. The fact that she was able to do this, to defend him to her best friend, meant something. It meant that she cared about him, that she wanted them to be friends and in these moments, a clean slate was what she needed; a friend who didn't know her past. One that will only know her future.

The alarm clock woke her up at 7 in the morning. With lazy steps but with new forces she walked to her closet and like the previous day, she chose some formal clothes which she would probably give up in a few weeks. After getting ready for a new day at work, Elena left her apartment and walked to the orange car that was waiting for her in the parking lot. She opened the door and climbed in, relaxing as she leaned into the chair.

"Okay, Gilbert. Spill it!"

"Just drive, Caroline. I have nothing to spill. Why are you so curious about me and Damon?" Elena asked her friend who was impatiently tapping her fingers on the steering wheel, adding tension to her already stressful mood.

"Because I'm your best friend, practically your sister and I have the right to know. Plus, I tell you everything about me and Stefan," the blonde pouted and pressed some buttons until she found the song she loved and listened to every single day; _Lucky_ by Jason Mraz.

Elena sighed and took a big breath before she opened her mouth to talk, only to be interrupted by Caroline who raised her hand to silence the girl.

"What?" Elena snapped, becoming annoyed by what her friend was doing.

"Be honest." Caroline requested and smiled as she quietly sang along with the song playing in the background.

"I don't know what you want to know. Nothing's going on between me and Damon. We're just friends. We met at the bar a few months ago and that's all. And he's been very nice to me and sometimes we hang out. That's all. You don't have to make a big fuss about it."

"Oh..." the blonde nodded her head and Elena let out a breath filled with relief that she escaped the Caroline Inquisition. "I'm not changing my mind. He's still a douchebag and you're too good for him, Elena. I don't want to see you suffer."

"What are you talking about? We're just friends, nothing more. We're not romantically involved and we never will be." Elena frowned, thinking about it for a moment. Yes, it was true that she considered him a very good looking guy but that was all. She never thought of him as something more than a friend. Not until now.

"You're so delusional. You should know that no one ever escapes from Damon. When he wants something, he gets it."

Caroline seemed to know a lot of things about Damon in such a short time. It wouldn't surprise her if her friend ran an investigation on the two brothers. Caroline wasn't the typical girlfriend. She was one with Sherlock Holmes's abilities.

"Thanks for driving me. I'll talk to you later." Elena opened the door when Caroline stopped the car and taking her bag, walked to the office.

She was feeling ready for another day now that she finally knew who was she dealing with in there. Silently, Elena put her bag on the desk and sat down, looking for the little paper with the computer password on it. Minutes later, she started to work on a new article about contemporary writers. It was a subject that really interested her because she knew for sure that one day she would be a person that people wrote about.

As the hours passed by, Elena's thoughts flew to Damon. She should call him and invite him over to dinner so she could thank him for all he's done for her. And with this, she could find out more about him and of course, prove Caroline wrong.

Elena grabbed her purse and frantically searched for her phone, abandoned in the corner next to her sketchbook. She searched for Damon's number, dialed and patiently waited for him to pick up.

"Hello. Damon? It's Elena. Are you busy?" the girl's eyes sparkled with joy and excitement at the fact that tonight she might have dinner with Damon.

_"I'm never busy for friends. How are you, Elena?" _the soft voice answered and she could bet he was smiling his genuine smile, the one that just the day before, made her feel so confident.

"I just wanted to invite you over to my place for dinner. What do you say?" she bit her lip in anticipation. What if he said no? She would feel like a fool, thinking he would actually come to her small apartment and have dinner with her.

_"Sounds like a plan to me. Message me with your address. I'll bring the wine."_

Her heart resumed beating when he accepted her invitation. She was going to have dinner with Damon. With her _friend _Damon.

And then it hit her. She had no idea how to cook. Now she had to call for some kind of takeout that would go well with wine. Of course, she would've chosen something like KFC or pizza that would go with beer, which was the only alcoholic drink in her house but she was having dinner with Damon Salvatore, one of the wealthiest men alive, who didn't like cheap food or drink.

Before leaving the office, Elena saved her work for the day and took care to lock the computer. She grabbed her bag and walked out of the office and decided to walk home today. She had plenty of time until Damon was due over.

What to wear was the question buzzing in her head. Of course, she should probably choose some sweatpants and a top but that would make her a boring and un-sexy person. On the other hand, if she wore a dress it would make her a sophisticated but out-of-place person. Who wears dresses when eating takeout in a little apartment like hers, in the company of a friend? It was a stupid thing to do. After a while of thinking, she finally settled on the idea of wearing a pair of ripped skinny jeans and a shirt.

Elena walked into the living room, picked up the phone, and called the Italian place just down the street for an order of spaghetti Bolognese. Now, she was prepared for the night.

Her hair was up in a ponytail and she was dressed in clothes that really suited her, ones that made her feel like herself, without masks. It was the way she wanted to look.

A knock on the door made Elena jump and she turned off the TV and before turning to answer, she glanced at the table with the food one more time, making sure she prepared everything. She inhaled deeply and walked to the door, pressing firmly on the knob, only to be welcomed by that pair of deep blue eyes and a warm smile.

"Elena." Damon nodded his head and straightened his body after leaning his body on the side of the door.

"Please, come on in." She smiled and stepped back for him to walk inside.

"Nice place you got here. That's for dinner," he handed her a bag with a bottle of wine. She peeked inside only to notice that it was an old bottle and probably a very expensive one.

"Thanks. Okay then." She smiled awkwardly and watched him as he got rid of his black leather jacket and sat on the couch.

"What do I owe the pleasure of you inviting me over to dinner? I mean, not that I mind..." Damon asked. Elena turned around and walked to the couch, sitting in the opposite side, her legs curled underneath her.

"I figured I should thank you. For everything you've done for me. And this looked like a good way of doing it. Besides, I can get to know you better. Isn't that what friends do?" Elena smiled and it was a genuine smile, one that she hadn't had on her face in a long time, probably since the day she became Dylan's girlfriend. It was that kind of smile that she only shared with people she genuinely liked and she dared to say Damon was one of those people. He was a good guy and there was nothing Caroline could say to change her opinion about him.

He nodded, having no response to what she had just explained and took the bottle of wine in his hands. He opened it and poured the red liquid into the glasses, handing one to Elena.

"Cheers! For a new friendship that is born, right here, right now." Damon smiled and his eyes danced in the dim light of the living room, daring Elena to gaze into them.

"Cheers!" She woke from her reverie and clinked her glass against his, smiling.

"Did you solve your problems at the office? I don't want to be mean but I can be selfish. I would be very happy if you'd come work with me."

"Damon...I can't. Not now. I have to work on my own with people I don't know. It's the only way I can improve and prove to myself I'm good at what I do. If I come to work for you, I'm not going to learn anything."

These were the things that always put her in an awkward spot. Friends asking her for favors, choices that needed to be made. She couldn't say yes to him even if she wanted to, because she did. She did want to work with him, but that would mean to stay at the same level she was at in college, to be surrounded by people coddling her, saving her from problems. And she wanted those things, even if she knew it would harm her.

"I know. Been there, done that." He approved and sipped from his glass, not breaking the eye contact. "I think it's the first time I've seen you with your hair up. It looks good on you."

She smiled in response to his compliment and slowly began eating from the plate in front of her, pointing to Damon to do the same. Moments later, the sound of her phone ringing cut through the dead silence between them.

"Bonnie. Yes, I'll call you later. I'm in the middle of something."

Her glance wandered to Damon who seemed to have finished his dinner and was now leaning against the side of the couch, following her moves in silence, while sipping from his drink.

Hours later, they were laughing and telling stories from when they were little kids, making each other scream of joy and surprise.

"So, I was about to go fishing with my brother and of course, I was carrying his things as well as mine. Like a clumsy thing he is, he fell and broke his nose. Don't tell anyone, but he needed a nose job to fix it." Damon whispered in a funny voice. "No, I'm kidding about the surgery part. But he did break his nose. It was horrible. He cried like a baby for two days and I had to do his homework because he was too lazy."

"Oh my god, I cannot believe this!" Elena said between waves of laughter. It's been a while since she had laughed like that and she was feeling good. She was feeling good because she was spending time with a friend who didn't judge her, with someone who was almost like her; disappointed and broken.

"You should've seen me when I was little. I wanted to become a singer. I was so obsessed with the idea I sang every word I said. I drove my family nuts and even my little brother hated me." Elena said, blushing.

"Sing something, I want to hear."

"Oh no, you're not getting that from me, no way!" She shook her head, dead serious, but she finally smiled when a thought popped into her mind. "Only if you sing with me," she proposed enthusiastically.

"I can only play the guitar." Damon deadpanned and that was the moment when Elena jumped from her spot and flew into her bedroom. She opened the closet and pulled the old guitar from the corner. It was a present from her granddad, who wanted her to be a singer. She rushed back into the living room and smirked when she handed the guitar to Damon, who seemed to be impressed.

"Hmm...Let's do this!" He took the guitar and started to play softly. Seconds later, her voice filled the room and perfectly twined with the sounds of the guitar.

_Let's walk down the road that has no end_

_Steal away where only angels tread_

_Heaven or hell or somewhere in between_

_Cross your heart to take me when you leave_

_Don't go... Please don't go. Don't go without me._

The rain started to pour and clatter against the windows, but they seemed not to notice until Damon looked at the watch on his wrist and saw how late it was.

"It's late. I should go. This was fun. I had a very good time, Elena." He said as he stood up and walked to the front door to gather his jacket and leave.

"I had a nice time as well. I'm glad you came. I had to show you how grateful I am for all you've done. Your friendship is really good for me these days." Elena smiled warmly and opened the door, watching Damon until he couldn't be seen anymore.

She walked across the room and sat on the couch again, pouring some of the leftover wine in her glass and slowly sipping it, while reviewing the facts of the evening. She had learned that Damon had a pretty rough childhood because he had to take care of his brother. Elena was so happy to have him as a friend. She was sure that eventually, Caroline would come to an agreement with him and they would all be friends, really good friends, because Elena couldn't understand how someone could hate that man.

She was startled by an unknown sound coming from the place next to her. She looked over and saw Damon's phone. Without thinking, she pressed a button and answered, not thinking about the consequences.

"Damon, baby, you have to come and see me. I'm feeling bad, Damon. I need to get to a hospital. Please, come here. I have no one else. Damon? Are you there, Damon?" The soft voice of a woman echoed in the phone, making Elena's mouth fall open.

* * *

AN: Tut, tut, tut...Something's going on. Fishy, right? Stay tuned!


	10. Please don't stop the rain

_****_AN: Hello again! And after just two weeks, wow, that's a miracle. But I wanted to give you this little something since it's holiday time. So read it, review it and enjoy it! Happy holidays!

_**You're feeling like you've got no place to run**_

_**I can be your shelter 'til it's done**_

_**We can make this last forever**_

_**So please don't stop the rain**_

"I...I'm sorry, Damon's not here." She stumbled over her own words and hung up. Elena ran to the door and pulled her coat over her clothes. Then, in a rush, exited the apartment and looked up and down the block, trying to catch Damon, before he left.

The rain was pouring like never before and she was already soaked. All she could think about while she ran after Damon was the fact that the woman on the phone called him _baby_. What does that mean? He lied to her? He had a girlfriend? But why would he hide that from her and why was she so angry about it?

When she finally saw the shadow of Damon, she stopped running and filling her lungs with air, she called out to him.

"Damon!"

He turned around, confused. From that distance, she could see the drops of rain pour from his black raven hair and she had no idea why, but she couldn't take her eyes off him. Elena started to walk at the same time as he did, meeting him at the middle of the block. The dark surrounded them and the rain created a symphony for their ears.

"Elena? Is something wrong?" He asked, trying to figure out what was happening.

"You," she sucked in another sharp breath, "you forgot your phone. Here, take it." She held the phone for him to take and turned to leave, without saying anything else.

"Elena, wait. Why are you acting like this?" Damon frowned, but despite her best efforts to shut up, she gave in and told him.

"You don't trust me, do you? I thought we were friends." She shook her head and let out a laugh. She had been an idiot, thinking that he could be friends with her. He just pitied her and that was all.

"What are you talking about?" He asked confused. "Of course we're friends. What happened, Elena?"

"Your girlfriend called. You should see what's wrong with her. She seemed sick." Elena said, her tone cold, her glance somewhere other than him.

"Excuse me, who? You know I don't have a girlfriend. Maybe it was a mistake. I'll check." He said and looked at his phone. He closed his eyes and ran a hand through his wet hair. Elena noticed he was angry and she didn't say anything else. Instead she just stood there, without moving from the spot.

"Katherine..." he mumbled, his voice low.

"Anyway, I've got to go." She said and again she turned to leave but he grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to him. Elena could feel the warmth of his body and his rapid breath, the scent of his perfume mixed with the smell of wine.

Their eyes met and for the first time she could see his eyes clearly, the beauty of them. He raised his hand to her cheek and ran a finger along it, making her gasp at the touch. In the next moment, their lips were suddenly on each other, his fingers tangling in the tresses of her hair. His tongue slowly delved into her mouth, making her moan and he pulled her closer, her chest pinned to his body.

She knew it was wrong but somehow she couldn't stop it because in that moment she forgot about everything that was happening in her world. But just the next second, it hit her like a bucket of cold water and she pulled away from him.

"This can't happen again. We're friends and just that. You have a girlfriend and I...I just went through a breakup." Elena tried to explain but the truth was that she liked it, that she wouldn't have stopped if it hadn't been for that phone call.

"I don't have a girlfriend! And who are you to answer my phone?''

''Don't you yell at me, Damon Salvatore.'' Elena was taken aback by his icy tone of voice.

''You're the one who stormed after me with the attitude.'' His eyes were fixated on his phone again as it started ringing in his hand.

Elena pointed a stern finger at his phone, ''It seems urgent. You should probably take care of _her._''

Damon rubbed the bridge of his nose, silencing the phone in his hand, ''I don't owe you an explanation but I'll call you tomorrow when when I can straighten this all go inside. You're going to catch a cold."

"Yeah...Goodnight, Damon."

She turned around and walked back home, pulling the coat tightly around her body. Just a few minutes ago she had been so close to him, so close that she didn't even feel the cold outside and she wished she could have stay there for a little more, but it was impossible. Her place wasn't there, they were just friends and that was all they would ever be. It was for the best. And she still loved Dylan, even if she didn't see a future with him.

Comfortably seated on her bed, she grabbed her laptop and started to write a new chapter of her moments when she wrote were the moments when she could see the complexity of life and the big chain of relationships one can have with the rest of the world. It amazed Elena how much she had grown as a person in the last few years, how much she had grown from being that annoying and selfish young girl to being a dedicated and intelligent woman. But sometimes, despite the fact that she had learned so much, she was being worse than a child.

The next few days she didn't hear a thing from Damon and she was worried and upset at the same time. He probably didn't want to talk to her after what happened so she decided to call Caroline and talk to her about a night out the next day, since it was Saturday and she wouldn't have to go to work.

"Caroline, hi. Yeah, can I come over to you, so we can talk?"

She knocked on the door and stepped back when she heard footsteps. Caroline appeared at the door in her PJ's and with ruffled hair. Elena frowned and stepped inside, almost running to Caroline's bedroom to find the sheets a mess. She didn't really care about that and just threw herself onto the bed and pulled the sheets over.

"And still...what happened here? Were you in a pillow fight with one of your roommates?" Elena asked, looking around.

Caroline smiled awkwardly and jumped onto the bed next to her best friend and then she giggled like a little girl.

"Stefan just left. He spent the night here."

"Oh...that explains everything. Well, I'm glad it's all fairy dust for you." Elena smiled but her smile wasn't a happy one. She thought she had a new friend who would be there for her when she needed him and now she hadn't heard from him in days. The thought of him abandoning her right now depressed her but maybe it was for the best that it happened now rather than later, when she would come to care about him even more.

"What's wrong?" Caroline asked when she saw Elena staring blankly at the ceiling, her expression lost.

"Damon. I haven't talked to him in three days." She confessed because she needed someone to know about this.

"I thought you had a serious problem. That's not even a problem. Why do you have to talk to him?" The blonde deadpanned.

"Because he's my friend, Caroline. And I'm worried that he might be mad at me."

"Damon's not friends with anyone. He just wants to get into your panties. Besides, why would he be mad at you?" Caroline asked, rolling her eyes at her friend. Elena knew that she couldn't understand her relationship with Damon and that was because she didn't know the truth. She had no idea that he was her hero, the one who saved her when no one else would have.

"Because he had dinner at my place the other night and he forgot his phone. Katherine called and I answered. He knows that." Elena confessed.

"Katherine, like in that bitch who came unannounced at Stefan's a few days ago?"

Elena nodded in silence. She couldn't stop thinking what she would do if he wouldn't talk to her anymore. All of a sudden, she remembered the kiss and she smiled at the memory, bringing her finger to her lips as if to check if they were still swollen.

That kiss ignited something inside of her that she never felt before and in that moment she wanted to stop time so his lips could stay upon hers forever. But then she remembered that it wasn't right, because she still had feelings for someone else and his love life was as complicated or even more complicated than hers.

They were both on the edge and if she surrendered to him it would mean the destruction and not only for her, but for him as well. They may have a good time together and forget for a while about everything but when reality set in, their worlds would come crashing down on them and that was something she couldn't afford. So she stuck with her choice; they would only be friends.

Elena stood up and ran into the living room, taking her coat and her bag. She had to fix things while they were still warm. With every minute that passed, her chances of being forgiven by Damon were slimmer.

"Elena! Where are you going? You've just got here. Won't you stay for lunch?" Caroline called after her and followed her into the living room. She seemed to be confused and Elena couldn't blame her. She herself was confused about everything she had at the moment and she had the ability to bring everyone around her down with her.

"I can't sit around and do nothing, Caroline. He won't call me. I've got to go!" She said while struggling to put her coat as fast as she could. Now, she only had to figure out how to find Damon.

Leaving her best friend, she walked out on the streets and fished her phone from her pocket, looking for Stefan's number.

_"Hello, Elena," _he greeted her his distinct, serene voice.

"Stefan, hey. I was just wondering if you knew where Damon is." She asked.

_"Actually, he's right beside me. We're at the office, clearing some things up."_

"Oh, okay. I'm on my way." She announced and hung up on him, rushing to find a taxi.

Elena ran to the elevator and pressed the button to get to the top floor, where Damon's office was. She stopped in front of his door for a moment trying to figure out if she was doing the right thing but then her worries came back and she pushed the door open, not thinking about the repercussions.

"Damon? We need to talk." She found him and Stefan going through some commercials while sipping from glasses of bourbon. Typical Damon. She watched how his face turned towards her and his mouth opened in surprise at the sight of her.

"What are you doing here, Elena?" He asked, motioning for her to come inside.

"I need to talk to you."

"I'll leave you guys alone." Stefan said and took his jacket, ready to leave the office.

"Stefan, wait. We're not done here, Elena. I'll call you and we'll talk another time." Damon hurried to say, shrugging his shoulders in fake regret.

"I have to meet Caroline anyway." His brother said, smiling awkwardly as he tried to make his way out of that room.

"You just left her place. What the hell, Stefan? You can't leave me to finish this alone." Damon's eyes flicked to his brother.

Elena stood between the two of them, watching as Damon tried to persuade his brother stay, just so he wouldn't have to talk to her. It pained her to see that now he didn't even want to talk to her.

"We're done with that campaign, Damon. Have fun you two!" Stefan said and exited the door, leaving them alone. Damon sighed and sat in his chair again, pouring some more bourbon into his glass.

"You're avoiding me." Elena finally said and left her bag on the couch, never taking her eyes off Damon. She found him to be indifferent and she was worried that he might not want to hear from her ever again. His eyes were colder, not the same confident ones that a few days ago made her feel so good and self-confident.

He scoffed and let out a ridiculous laugh.

"I'm not avoiding you, Elena. I'm just busy." He said, shaking his head like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"You're so busy you couldn't even call me when you said you would?" She took a few steps forward, until she reached his desk. She put her hands on it and leaned forward until she could look him in the eyes.

"You said you'd be there for me, you said you're my friend, and yet you can't even call me when you say you will? That's not a friendship Damon, that's a disaster!" She almost yelled at him, her voice showering him with all the emotions she had inside; rage, affection, disappointment.

"What do you want, Elena? I've been there when you needed a friend. I am your friend. But I have my own problems too. And nobody cares about that. You can't come here and say that you feel left out, that you're alone, because you're not! You have Caroline, you have Bonnie, hell you even have my brother. I have just one friend who's nowhere to be found right now and my brother, who is obviously too busy to talk to me. So yeah, I'm just too busy, Elena."

His words hit her like a ton of bricks and her legs started to feel like jelly once she realized that his life wasn't as easy as she thought it was. She grabbed a chair from the desk and pulled it in front of Damon, before she sat in it.

"Is this about your girlfriend?" She asked, not looking him in the eyes, worried about what he might say or do.

"For the love of god, I don't have a girlfriend, Elena! Which reminds me, why did you answer my phone?" He snapped, undoing the knot in his tie. Elena was startled by his question but inhaled deeply and tried not to enrage him anymore.

"Because...I thought it was urgent. It was ringing and it wasn't stopping and I got worried that something happened. And I was right. That woman needed to get to a hospital or something, Damon. She said she needed you." She did her best to explain that it wasn't her intention to cause trouble, that she just wanted to help. But it seemed like every time she tried to do some good, it turned out bad for her.

"She needed to get to a hospital, my ass. Katherine is a manipulative bitch. She's a liar. And she destroyed my life!" He yelled, standing up from the chair.

Elena didn't know what to do. He seemed so hurt, so vulnerable right now. She hadn't seen anyone react like this before and she definitely didn't want to see him like this again. Her heart clenched seeing his saddened face. She grabbed his hand and tried to pull him back down to sit.

"Talk to me," she whispered, lifting her hand to carefully caress his face.

"What do you want to know, Elena?" He sighed and after a few moments, she retracted her hand and rested it upon his, drawing circles on it to calm him down.

"Just what you want me to know." She nodded slightly, trying to make him understand that she won't ask anything that he doesn't want her to know, trying to make him believe that she was there for him and that she always would be.

"She was my girlfriend for a long time, up until a few months ago. I loved her more than anything in my life, she seemed perfect for me. Everybody loved her, even my father, who doesn't love anyone except his baby Stefan. I thought that being with her, besides the fact that it made me happy, would restore my relationship with my father. I was a love-struck idiot, I didn't realize what a snake she was. One night, when I got home earlier from work, I expected to find her home, waiting for me, but instead she was doing something else. She was packing her bags to leave me. I had an engagement ring in my pocket. I was planning to ask her to marry me and instead, I ended the night trying to count how many shots I had. I lost track. And I lost her."

Her mouth opened in shock and she had no idea what to say. She wasn't expecting this kind of confession, it was mind blowing. She wanted to ask why was Katherine blackmailing him now but it wasn't the right moment, she couldn't make this worse than it was. Instead, she tried to soothe him, to make him regain his confidence.

"You'll find someone else, Damon. You'll fall in love again and all this will be just a bad memory. You're a great guy. I'm sure women are lining up for you."

"I don't believe in love, Elena. Not anymore. I'm screwed up, I'm not a great guy. But it's the way I like it. Because it's so much easier not to care at all. It doesn't affect me anymore. I learned that she wasn't worthy and she would never be. I'm glad I didn't end up marrying her. It would've ruined my life." He deadpanned and Elena saw how serious he was. But she also realized how right he was; he was screwed up. Caroline has been right. But only because she didn't know the truth behind his flaws.

He may have been full of flaws but he was a good guy and deep down, she knew that he would see that eventually. And she would help him discover it.

"I'm sorry, Damon."

"For what? I don't need your pity, Elena." He scoffed, his eyes shimmering when they met hers.

"No, I'm- I'm sorry for answering your phone. I shouldn't have done that. I don't have the right to go through your stuff. And I understand if you don't want to be my friend anymore."

"Pft, it's okay. I got mad because she keeps calling me lately. But I'm dealing with it right now. Don't be silly, of course we're still friends. Come here, Gilbert." He said and pulled her into a hug, his hands running up and down her back. She smiled, glad that she had managed to mend the situation.

"But I'm not sorry for kissing you," he whispered into her ear and he let go of her, but not before he pressed a kiss on her cheek. She blushed and smiled bashfully.

"Just don't do it again." He nodded before he sighed. She could tell he was feeling better now because the tension in his shoulder disappeared and his eyes had that warmth in them again.

''So, what are your plans?'' He asked, taking another glass and filling it with some brown liquid before topping off his own glass. He offered her the glass and she gladly took it, but put it down on the desk and took off her coat.

"I'm talking with a friend over a glass of bourbon.'' She smiled and took her glass to sit on the couch where he followed her.

''That's a good plan. Why don't you tell me something about yourself? You now know all about my love life. It's only fair, right?" Damon proposed and she inhaled deeply, knowing that this was a long road to go down. It was going to take more than one glass of bourbon to get through her story.

''Hm, well I was born and raised in Mystic Falls. It's a small town in Virginia, which you've probably never heard of. My mother was a writer and my dad a doctor. I have a younger brother, his name is Jeremy and he's living with my aunt Jenna, whom you've already met and not in a pleasant manner. Sorry about that,'' she smiled ashamed of the memory of him carrying her home that night when he saved her at the bar. ''I had a lot of friends. I was popular, the captain of the cheerleading squad, Miss Mystic Falls and all that. But that didn't make me happy, not even the slightest because it wasn't enough. You have no idea what you're talking when you say you're a bad guy, Damon." She shook her head at what she was about to tell him, because she was going to tell him everything about her. She knew that she could completely trust him. At the end of the day, she had nothing to lose.

"I am the bad guy. I was, anyway. I've destroyed a lot of lives, I was so mean I didn't care about anyone but me. Hell, I didn't even care for Caroline who is like my sister. I liked to party and I partied hard. One night there was this party and I wanted to go, of course. My parents were practically begging me to stay home for a family night but who was I to listen to them? I went and that night I got into a fight with my boyfriend; I caught him cheating on me and I had to plot my revenge, which I never got to do. I was desperate to get home, I couldn't stay there anymore so I called my mother and asked her to come get me. They came and got me but we never made it home. My parents died in that car accident and I didn't.''

''How did you get to New York?'' Damon broke the deafening silence after my confession.

''Jenna left her life behind here to raise Jeremy and I. I was getting in more and more trouble in Mystic Falls so when I finished high school, we moved to New York because I got into Columbia. Those four years at university were my wake up call, they brought me back to reality. I studied hard and I finally achieved what I wanted. And that's the story of Elena Gilbert."

She was perfectly aware that she didn't tell him about the black months in her life, that dark period when she would hurt herself not to feel the pain anymore, the guilt, the sorrow. She couldn't go back in that place, not now, not with him.

"Quite the story you have there, Gilbert. I just can't imagine you as the bad guy. Only in short shorts." He smirked his authentic smile and sipped from his glass and she did the same because she needed it.

"Damon!" She started to laugh and threw the pillow next to her at him. "Look, I have a proposal. Tomorrow night, me, you, Caroline and Stefan are going to party, Gilbert style, okay?"

"Ugh, why Caroline? I think the two of us would do just fine." Damon scoffed.

"Don't be a child. I want you and Caroline to get along. You both are my friends and I hate to see my friends fighting. We'll go together and we'll have a great time and you won't even feel the need to bicker with her." Elena explained. She wasn't good at this at all. She hated to see her friends fighting and she would do all that was in her power to see Damon and Caroline bond over something, even if that something was miniscule.

"Fine...just for you." He smiled and that smile made her heart beat faster and showered her face with a smile of her own.

"Thank you!" She stood up and pulled on her, knowing it was time to leave. It had turned into a good day. It was full of confessions and she had learned a lot about Damon. Unfortunately, they both had lives full of sorrow in common. His father didn't want him, hated him. His girlfriend told him she doesn't love him. His life was no better than hers despite his money. This was a situation where the saying "Money doesn't buy happiness" applied perfectly.

"I'll get you home. I'm done here."

"So you were avoiding me, then." She walked down the hallway, a few steps ahead of him but not too far.

"Yeah. I wasn't in the mood to talk about Katherine, but it felt good to." He admitted and opened the front door with the key-card he had in his pocket.

"You know you can always talk to me..." Elena turned to him and she smiled warmly. Her arms tangled around him and she hugged him softly.

"So that's the bitch you're sleeping with now?" A voice coming from behind startled them and Elena turned to face the person talking.


	11. One Day

_****_AN: Hello! I hope you've all had amazing holidays and I wish you a Happy New Year! I want to thank my amazing beta for helping me out with this so thanks, Britt! These being said, enjoy this new chapter!

_**No more tears, my heart is dry**_

_**I don't laugh and I don't cry**_

_**I don't think about you all the time**_

_**But when I do - I wonder why**_

Elena couldn't believe that woman was there again, with the two of them, never giving them a moment of privacy, of happiness. And then she wondered why she would need privacy with Damon. They were just friends and Katherine had been his girlfriend for two years.

"What an unexpected surprise," Damon mumbled, his good mood gone.

"You should expect me here more often now. I just missed my boyfriend." Katherine said and walked in front of Damon, raising her hand and running it down Damon's chest. He stepped back and narrowed his eyes. Elena knew what game she was playing. She wanted to make her believe she was his girlfriend again, just so they would fight. Clearly she had no idea that she and Damon were just friends and she had no intention of changing that if it helped Damon.

"Take your hands off him. What do you think you're doing?" Elena stepped in between them and looked Katherine right in the eyes, again, glaring at how alike they were. Damon seemed to be confused for a moment, but he relaxed and Elena thought that he understood what she was doing there.

"Well, well...Is this my new replacement, Damon? You know, I hate to say this, but she kinda looks like me. She could pass as my younger sister." Katherine sussed, pulling a smirk on her face.

Having her this close, Elena had to admit she was beautiful; beyond beautiful. It was no wonder why he had fallen in love with her and even wanted to marry her. What was unnatural was for her to tell him she didn't love him. How could someone not fall in love with Damon? He was everything a woman wanted. Unfortunately, he hadn't been there earlier, before she met Dylan.

"She is nothing like you, Katherine. You don't even come up to her chin." Damon said and he put his arms around Elena. For a moment she wanted to tell him not to do that because it wasn't right, it didn't even feel right but she had to help him.

Katherine scoffed and shook her head gracefully. Elena couldn't stop staring at her, at her moves. All she has ever wanted to be was there, in front of her eyes. If her parents hadn't died, if she hadn't gotten that wake-up call, she would've been just like Katherine, a heartless woman who didn't care about anyone but herself. But she would've been successful, she would've had it all in a snap of a finger.

"We'll talk again soon. And you...Elena? That's your name, right? I suggest you stay away from Damon. You're no good for him." Katherine hissed the last words and she smirked.

"I think I'm better than you." Elena flat out admitted and she turned to Damon, winking at him to follow her lead. "Come on babe, we're going home."

He nodded shortly and tangled his fingers with hers, brushing her knuckles softly.

"Goodbye, Katherine. I hope I never have to see you again." He mumbled and left, still holding Elena's hand tight until they stopped in front of his car. He opened the door for her and she immediately cuddled inside, making herself comfortable and turning on the music.

"That was...thank you! It wouldn't have ended that way if it wasn't for you." Damon said, still looking confused. Elena thought that it was because she had pretended to be his girlfriend. It was something she did because she cared about him and after all he said to her, she had to make sure he trusted her.

"You're welcome. I would do it anytime." She confessed, dead serious about it. A smile grew on her face. "By the way...did you see her face?" She started to laugh and he did the same.

"Precious! I've never seen her like that before. Good job, Gilbert." They high fived before he started the engine and left.

The drive home was quiet, they only listened to the music and watched how the clouds settled in the sky, rain started to pour and clatter against the windows of the car. It was late October and in a month it would start snowing, a thing Elena loved. Christmas would be there in a rush and she would have her own Christmas tree in her little place, maybe she would even get the chance to finish her book. It was her wish; that and to be happy. To finally have someone she could care about and who would understand her and respect her wishes.

"Don't forget about our plans for tomorrow, Salvatore." She said when she climbed out of the car. He made sure to nod and she smiled, before she walked across the sidewalk and disappeared inside her apartment building.

Elena pulled out her key from her bag and tried to unlock her door but couldn't and she noticed it was already open. She sighed, worried about who might have broken into her apartment and thought about calling Damon. After a few minutes of staying there and not hearing anything, she decided to go inside and see who was there.

The lights were all off, with the exception of the dim light from the lamp in the living room. She slowly walked into the middle of the room and let out a small, startled scream. She ran her hand through her hair and finally sighed in relief.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, leaving her bag on the couch and started to take off her coat.

"I thought we could have a chat." The man spoke with a calm voice and she sat next to him, her legs under her body, feeling comfortable because it was someone she knew, who she trusted and used to love; or still did.

"Dylan, there's nothing else left to say." She sighed and fluttered her eyelashes to push back the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes.

"You left me for that guy?" He asked, his face full of repulsion and sadness in his eyes. "Just because he's rich? How could you do that Elena?"

"Wait. What are you talking about?" With a confused face, she stood up and started to pace anxiously around the room.

"I'm talking about the guy that just left you in front of the building. Did you leave me for him, Elena?" He raised his voice and stood up, making Elena face him.

"No! Why would I do that? Damon is a good friend of mine and he has helped me when I needed it the most. So you can't say that about him." Elena tried to explain the best she could but in order to make him understand, she should just tell him about that night, a few weeks ago, when Damon saved her. But that was a subject she wasn't ready to talk about; especially not with her ex-boyfriend.

"Oh, please! It's not like I can trust anything you say. I don't believe you anymore, Elena."

"Then why did you come here tonight? Why did you break into my apartment? To make me feel like shit because I didn't want to marry you _now_? I told you a long time ago that I want to be known for my work, that I want to be successful. I cannot do that if I let my love life take over everything." Elena said, wiping away the few tears in the corner of her eyes and running a hand through her hair, trying to calm down.

"How is marriage ruining your career? Oh my god, Elena, don't your hear yourself? Don't you see how pathetic you sound?" Dylan laughed ironically and shook his head, disappointed.

"I'm sorry I ruined your life, Dylan. It was the last thing I wanted to do, I swear!" She cried, but it seemed to be useless because not even all the tears in the world could take away the pain she caused him.

"But you didn't ruin it. You opened my eyes. I realize that if I would've married you, I would've had to live in your shadow forever, with a few crumbs of you. Because all you know how to do is work; because your big life dream is to prove to your parents and to everyone else that you are worth it. Wake up, Elena! Your parents are dead. They can't see you anymore!"

That was the last straw she needed to hear before broke into tears. With her last forces, she walked to the door and opened it wide.

"Get out. Get out of here! I don't want to see you ever again!" She yelled at him and it seemed like right now, her words had great power in them because he left without saying anything else.

She began walking to her room but she felt like her legs couldn't carry her anymore and crumbled to the floor. She stayed there, for a few hours, thinking about life and crying. It was that feeling again, that made her want to rip off her skin and not feel anything anymore.

Elena stood up and walked to her bar, taking a bottle of bourbon and with lazy moves, she leaned against the door frame and slid down to the floor. She began drinking and with every drop she took she could see a memory of her and her parents. With every bit of alcohol Elena felt closer to them and she could watch them smile, but she couldn't touch them. She couldn't reach them as much as she extended her hand to caress them. It was impossible.

The hours passed by and she had no idea when she fell asleep but she couldn't wake up from her dream. It felt so real that she even thought she was there with her parents. They were back in their house in the small town of Mystic Falls, playing Pictionary and laughing. Her father was trying to draw something on the board, her mother was trying to convince Jeremy that drawing a pony was a better idea than drawing a fist, like he wanted and Elena was just looking at all of them and trying to figure out how to beat her brother and the woman who gave birth to her.

Elena woke up with a splitting headache, with the bottle next to her; it seemed like that was the only thing that she still had. She tried to get on her feet and find her phone. She walked to the couch where she had thrown her bag last night and fished the phone out, checking it. There were five missed calls from Caroline and a message from Damon. She opened it and a smile appeared on her face when reading its content: _Good morning! I can't wait to see you tonight. _It was short and not promising much, but for Elena, it was like a breath of fresh air because she knew that tonight, she would have a blast with her friends and she would forget about last night.

Elena found Caroline's number and wrote a short message to her: _Tonight, Club 25. You, me, Damon and Stefan. Be sexy!_ And with that she was done. She wandered through the apartment, as if looking for something, but she hadn't lost anything. She walked to her bedroom and took out some clothes, then turned around and entered the bathroom. Elena turned on the hot water and watched how the bathtub filled up. She took off her clothes and slowly sunk into the hot and relaxing water. She succumbed to the feeling of safety and warmth, allowing her mind to fly free.

Hours later, she was ready to leave her house. Looking stunning like she wanted to, she dressed in a pair of golden shorts and a black top and a pair of Louboutins. Elena felt like a princess. She walked to the closet and pulled out her coat, put it on and opened the door. The taxi was downstairs, waiting for her and she rushed to get inside before she froze. It was late October in New York and the weather was not exactly suited for shorts.

Elena walked inside the club and tried to find her friends through the crowd. She spotted Caroline who was wearing a brown strapless dress. Elena walked to their table, careful not to stumble as she navigated through the crowds.

"Hey guys. How are you?" She put her best smile on, trying not to think about what happened last night. Right now, she was going to party with her friends, get drunk again and forget that life can suck.

"The question is, how are you?" Caroline asked and fluttered her eyes, with that confident smile that showed everyone her decided character.

"Peachy. And how are you, Stefan?"

Stefan just smiled and shrugged. Her glance wandered to the crowd and she spotted the tall, dark-haired man who she'd come to know well.

"Good evening. Stefan, Blondie." Damon glanced and nodded his head shortly before turning to Elena. "Elena," he smiled and she stood up when he grabbed her hand. He put his arms around her and softly brushed his lips against her cheek and she did the same. She couldn't help but notice his cologne and inhaled deeply. She smiled wide when he took a step back to look at her.

"Stefan, do you see that?" Caroline asked in a low voice, not taking her eye off of Elena and Damon.

"Huh?" Stefan mumbled, distracted by his phone.

"Look at them!" She hissed, her face reddening from the anger of not knowing what was going on. Stefan turned his glance to his brother and he shook his head before he looked at his girlfriend.

"What's up?" He asked, faking that he didn't know what was she trying to make him see.

"Those two are too close. What is your brother planning?" The blonde girl asked, but just when the time for Stefan to answer came, Damon and Elena decided to sit and savor their drinks.

"So, little brother, did you talk to dad recently?"

"Of course. Just earlier. Why?" Stefan narrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Elena looked at him and for a second, she wished that looks could kill because now she knew that Damon wasn't loved by their father, that Stefan was his favorite. And that answer he gave Damon wasn't acceptable. Not to her.

"Just curious." Damon smiled warmly and sipped from his drink.

"So how's the job treating you, 'Lena?" The blonde seemed to have recovered her original color and now had a sweet smile on her face.

Elena nodded simply. "Good, really good," she said and Damon turned to her and rolled his eyes sarcastically. She playfully slapped him behind the head.

"I love you too!" He shouted through the music and she laughed like she hadn't in years.

"What?" Caroline asked, her face looked like she was constipated. Or like she would just bolt from her place at any time and punch Damon. Or both.

"What what, Blondie?" Damon rolled his eyes annoyed.

"Don't try to mess with my nerves, Salvawhore. You've been warned!" She jerked her finger to him but she was dragged back by Stefan, who was whispering something in her ear.

"Chill. Everyone, chill." Elena came between them and she narrowed her eyes for a second, then smirked amused. "Because tonight...we're having fun." She giggled like a little girl and she wasn't even drunk yet.

Caroline and Damon both stared at each other and then shrugged, accepting the challenge and Stefan...he was just Stefan; calm and collected.

For few moments there was quiet; well, at their table, because the music was still the reason everyone else was on the dance floor, laughing, moving to the beat.

"This is a bit awkward," Stefan began.

"Excuse me?" Damon asked and raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you and Elena have broken up with your partners and me and Caroline, you know-"

"Ugh, but who cares about that, Stef? Me and Elena are single and ready to mingle." Damon interrupted him and winked at Elena who hadn't heard anything.

"What did you say?" Elena asked and came closer to Damon, so she could hear. He shook his head, amused, and glanced to her, that way that their faces were almost pressed together and she could feel his warm breath against her skin and again, there was that scent that dazzled her.

"I said that we're both single and ready to mingle." He chuckled and she rolled her eyes. In the weeks she had known Damon and got so close to him, she had learned that his sense of humor was his top personality trait. He was sarcastic, funny and above all, handsome. She could bet that if Caroline could hear every single thing Damon said, he would be comatose by now.

"I'm sure Elena's not ready to mingle with anyone yet." Caroline said and narrowed her eyes, annoyed.

"Don't be so sure, Care." Elena raised her finger and sipped the rest of her drink. The three of them looked at her confused, and then Damon smirked devilishly.

"If you're ready to mingle, just give me a jingle." He winked playfully and ran a finger along her arm, causing Caroline to frown and send daggers in his direction.

"Oh, come on, I have a better idea." Elena said and she grabbed Damon's hand, trying to pull him up from the couch. He frowned, not knowing what she was about to do.

"Your ideas scare me." He said and stood up, waiting for the plan to be shared.

"We're going to the bar to have a few shots. Don't be such a baby, Salvatore. By the way, why is Caroline calling you Salvawhore?" She asked as she took his hand and began to walk through the crowd, making their way to the bar,

"Now you're talking. And I have no clue what goes on in Caroline's head. Maybe because Stefan told her I used to sleep with a lot of girls. That's not relevant right now. Or any other time, actually. I don't give a damn about her opinion of me."

Elena shrugged, almost indifferently. She sat on a stool at the bar and of course, he took his place next to her and they asked for tequila shots. Damon was amazed that she could do shots and not just cocktails like Katherine used to drink. At least that was what he had said to her and then he said he won't be naming her again.

Half and hour later, Elena's mind was so blurry that she wandered away while Damon was pushing their empty glasses towards the bartender. Caroline and Stefan were talking to Alaric, Damon's friend. As she was moving her hips up and down the rhythm of the music, Elena felt steady hands on her waist, and she recognized the man behind her after his suave touch and the scent that always seemed to grab her attention. From time to time, he would touchthe exposed skin of her thighs or he would run his hand along her stomach, making their bodies move like one.

Being so dizzy and allowing her mind to let go, Elena couldn't stop thinking about how well they coordinated and she would run a hand down his back, starting at the back of his head, stroking his hair and feeling the soft texture of it. From time to time, the small space between them would fade away and their bodies would collide. Elena welcomed his touch and for the first time, she didn't think about anything else but Damon, who right now, was making her float in a way no one ever made her.

"Listen, I have a proposal." Damon's breath lingered on her skin and she closed her eyes for a second, allowing herself to drift into his body.

"What?" She asked dreamily.

"Since we're both single, this means we're not getting sex regularly anymore and I know that sucks. For you and me both," he started.

"So what are you getting at?"

"Well, since we're such good friends, I think we should be sex buddies as well. Whenever we need sex, we should call each other and be there." Damon shrugged as they continued to move to the beat. They'd been doing that for the last fifteen minutes, but it felt like an eternity spent there, on the dance floor.

"That's not a good idea at all." Elena shook her head, not knowing what to do. The alcohol inside of her made her heart beat faster and a part of her was screaming _yes_, while the other one, the angelic side, said _no. _"Just think about what your brother would say. And Caroline, oh my god, Caroline! If she found out I'm sleeping with you, she would kill us both. You first, though, because she would torture me." Elena made her point.

"Who cares about what the Blondie thinks? She's irritated by everything. And I think that she's jealous you get the handsome brother."

"Oh, Damon, seriously?" She burst into laughter and playfully slapped him on the shoulder, stumbling over her own two feet. She was about to fall when he, in his drunk state, caught her and their chests collided, their lips met and that was the moment when it all started.

Their lips were burning against each other, their tongues were fighting for dominance, neither one wanted to give up their assault. The room seemed to spin around Elena and she clutched tightly to him, never wanting the moment to end. To regain the equilibrium, they walked back a few steps until they crashed against the wall. Damon's hands pulled her closer, as close as physically possible. The urgency in their kiss was unbearable because she wanted him and she felt-no, she knew now- that he wanted her too. She ran her hand through his tousled black hair and pulled him closer, and she swore she could see fireworks.

They stopped their make-out session a few moments later and Elena felt a flush of regret ripping through her body, because she knew it was wrong, but right now, she wanted more and that's why she couldn't stop earlier.

"What the fuck is going on here?" Caroline's angry voice sounded so close and Elena's eyes opened wide as she turned around to face the blonde girl standing in front of them. Damon smirked and Elena's mind seemed to recover a tad of consciousness because she stomped on his foot, making his face contort from the pain of her high heel.

"Go back to the table, Blondie, we're coming too, in a minute." He rolled his eyes and grabbed Elena's hand, trying to get away from Caroline.

"I'm going to the restroom. Elena, would you mind coming with me?" She asked, her eyes shimmering with something that Elena didn't know what to call; anger, disappointment...could it be jealousy, like Damon said? Elena nodded shortly and smiled to Damon.

"I'll be back in a few minutes. Don't leave!" She said to him and he puffed his cheeks out.

"And why would I leave now, huh?" He asked but didn't get an answer because Caroline had already dragged Elena from the dance floor and into the bathroom.

"What are you doing, Elena?" She asked in a low voice and Elena was sorry that for a second she thought it was jealousy running through Caroline's veins. It was just worry and she noticed that by the look in her eyes and her trembling lip.

"I-I had some extra shots of tequila and I got dizzy and-and then I just woke doing that. I can't help it, Caroline. It's not the first time it happens." Elena confessed and left Caroline with her mouth wide open in shock.

"Elena...You know I love you and that I never doubt your decisions. But this, this is just no good. Damon just wants to get into your pants. Or did he already...?" She asked, her eyes wide.

"No! No, no, no, no, no. We're just good friends Caroline. The first time, it happened by accident and now we were both drunk. Besides, Damon's right. The sorrow that both me and Damon have inside of us cannot fade unless we find new people in our lives." Elena said as she was cleaning her face with cold water. She pulled her hair up into a ponytail and arranged her top.

"Okay. I guess I can't tell you to stay away from him. I'll just tell you to be careful. And don't give him what he wants. Not so fast, 'Lena." Caroline winked and her friend nodded shortly.

They walked back to their table in silence and sat in their places. Damon was there, laughing with Alaric and his little brother.

"Everything alright?" Damon asked as he made place for Elena next to him. She smiled and nodded, assuring him that everything was fine.

"Sure. Oh, you've ordered orange juice. Perfect." She grabbed the glass and gulped half of it. Elena started to cough and immediately got a glass of water.

"Yeah, I've wanted to tell you. That's not just a juice. That's orange juice with vodka. I thought we should freshen up a bit."

"Good choice, Damon, good choice." Elena deadpanned after she emptied the water. Like she hadn't had enough already, he ordered another alcoholic drink. Well, last night she had gotten drunk as well, so why not another night? The difference was that tonight, she was with Damon and that could lead to a really bad thing. Then, she remembered Caroline's words from earlier_; not so fast._

"Do I have to tell you what you said yesterday?" Damon raised his eyebrows but she didn't understand what he meant, so he continued. "Partying Gilbert style, remember? Drink up...friend!" He winked and grabbed his own glass at the same time as she did, and they gulped down the contents of them.

Caroline cleared her throat and Elena smiled, assuring her that it was all fine, that she won't give it up; not that easily.

"Elena, I almost forgot. This is Alaric. My friend." Damon said and she shook hands with the man.

"Nice to meet you, Alaric. Though can I call you Ric? I mean, it's way easier to say." Elena said and Damon laughed. She turned to him and narrowed her eyes, silently asking him what that meant.

"It's just that I've always told him Ric is better." He explained.

"Nice to meet you too, Elena. I've heard a lot about you." Alaric said, looking over at his friend. Elena turned to Damon and smiled playfully.

"Oh, really?"

"Hello, everyone." A feminine voice spoke from behind them and everyone turned their head to see who it was. "This is my boyfriend, Dylan."


	12. Castle Walls

_****_AN: This one is from Damon's POV. I don't have too much to say about this, except that it's intense. Enjoy it!

_**Nobody knows I'm all alone**_

_**Living in this castle made of stone**_

_**They say that money is freedom**_

_**But I feel trapped inside it all**_

Damon woke up with a splitting headache and dressed only in a pair of briefs. He looked at the other side of the bed and groaned, annoyed when he saw a blonde, naked. He must've forgotten to tell her to leave. This wasn't him anymore. He should've been home a week ago and still, here he was; in Shanghai, enjoying life. Or trying to anyway. He was failing miserably at anything he tried to do, except business.

The blonde- what the hell was her name? He couldn't have been so drunk that he can't remember. Maybe Joana, or Loreen? He pounded the possibilities and choose Loreen; she had a Loreen face- woke up and stood up. She began to kiss his back and stroke his hair. He rolled his eyes and turned to face her.

"I think it's time we say goodbye." He deadpanned and watched how her face crumbled.

"But we had so-," she began but never got to finish.

"Yeah, yeah, we did. Such a shame I'm American. I got to go back home, babe. Maybe we'll meet again." Damon said and those were the last words he said to her. He walked into the bathroom of his hotel suite and turned on the water, leaving behind a screaming and swearing what? Loreen?

3PM. Just hours ago, he was showering and thinking about what he would do first when he got back. And now, he was landing at JFK Airport and he had no idea where should he go. He thought about visiting Elena, he missed her a lot. It was hell not to talk to her for such a long time. The messages were great, of course, but he wanted to see her in person, to be able to touch his friend. Thinking more, he changed his mind and decided he would go to the office. He shouldn't go to Elena like that, he should at least buy her some flowers to go with the frame he had gotten her.

And Stefan. He wanted to talk to his brother as well, but he was sure that wherever he was now, Caroline was there as well and he just wasn't ready to be welcomed home by Blondie. Half and hour later, he was sitting in the cab, impatiently running his hand through his hair. He was sure now that if he had called his driver, he would've been at the office already. Why was he in such a hurry to get there, anyway? The commercial for Shanghai was already done; it was the reason he remained there for such a long time. Maybe the women as well. Oh and the food. The authentic Chinese food was some of the best things in life. He remembered Elena and their first dinner together. They had spaghetti and wine. She told him a few weeks later that she wanted to get Chinese food, but she thought he only ate expensive stuff. He laughed in her face and told her that he could show her his underwear and how they didn't have Calvin Klein written on them. Well, not on every single one.

He walked into the reception. Everyone greeted him like he has been gone for years; well, he has been away for a long time, but that was irrelevant. He was sure that they were so happy he was back because he was a better boss than Stefan. Stefan was always brooding, too serious and too...annoying. And Damon was just Damon; mean, sexy, funny. He took the elevator and waited for it to go up to the fifteenth floor, where his office was and when he got out of the moving box, as he liked to call it, he made his way down the hallway.

As Damon was in no rush to get to his office, he lazily moved across the hallway, gazing at the paintings and the best commercials hung on the wall. But as he turned his back, someone crushed against his body and not even looking back, the woman stopped.

"Watch it, idi-" She started as she turned around, but her eyes opened wide and a big smile appeared on her face at the sight of him. Damon smirked and he barely had a chance to greet her because the next moment, she was in his arms, laughing and crying at the same time.

"Damon! Don't you ever leave me alone for that long again. I missed you." The woman said and he rolled his eyes, like he did with his friends and family.

"Pff, don't be such a girl, Gilbert. I'm sure you had people to entertain you here." Damon said and looked Elena over from head to toe.

"It's been two months, you asshole, of course I missed you. We have to celebrate your homecoming." Elena mumbled, trying to seem annoyed but her face gave her up because he could see how happy she was to see him.

Although he wasn't the _share the love _kind of man, he really missed her too. In the months he had known Elena, he had come accustomed to seeing her often, if not everyday. And communicating only through messages and phone calls didn't mean anything if he couldn't see her face. He didn't know why, but he had come to care immensely for this girl, so much so that if someone hurt her, he would murder them.

"You've lost some weight. You're so much thinner, Elena. I don't like it." He said and narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah, that's what work can do to you." She deadpanned.

"So what are you doing here?" He asked, curious. She couldn't have known that he would be back because he hadn't told anyone, not even Stefan. He looked at her clothes and raised an eyebrow. She was dressed too office-like to be here just visiting; a white dress above the knees and black bootees. That was intriguing.

"Just working, you know." She said and shrugged like what she has just told him was the most normal thing in the world, but he had no idea what she was talking about.

"Well, shouldn't you be at work right now? It's 3:30 PM on a Friday. Did the Americans make Friday a free day in these two months I was gone?" Damon asked, shaking his head confused.

"Oh, stop being lymphatic. I'm working here. And don't you even think that now that you're back I'm calling you _boss_." Elena mumbled and she turned around, ready to leave and leave him there, alone and dumbfounded.

"Wha- You didn't tell me that you decided to work here. When did this happen? And why?"

"You make me think that you don't even want me to be here. I've been working here for the last month, Damon. And the reason is simple. I got a new boss at the other job and he was hitting on me. I quit. And then I thought about coming to work here; knowing it would make you happy. Because it does, doesn't it?" She narrowed her eyes after telling him all this.

"Of course, yes. Still, you should've told me. So, what are you working on?" Damon asked.

"I got to tell you, Salvatore, that this job has so many perks. I can do what I like, whether I write articles for you or scripts for commercials and so much other stuff." She said, smiling at him.

He still couldn't believe that he was back and she was here and much less that he would see her every day, every minute of the day, because she was working with him now. That brought a little light inside of him and he had no idea why he felt so good about this. And he tried to remind himself over and over again that he wasn't friends with women, but failed miserably when it came to Elena.

"Well, I should probably get back to work. But I won't forget about that party. So get to planning something for us, Damon." She said as she walked away. He stood there, smiling like an idiot, while watching her disappear around the corner.

Damon walked into his office to find Stefan hovering above Caroline on his desk. He shut the door close and narrowed his eyes before applauding sarcastically.

"Why does it have to be on my desk, Stefan? At least, go for the couch. It's why I put it there." He deadpanned and looked at their shocked faces.

"Damon! When did you come back and what are you doing here?" Stefan asked as he hurried to close the buttons of his shirt.

"You idiot! Don't you knock?" Caroline screamed as she covered her camisole.

Damon blinked a few times as if to understand what the heck was wrong with those two.

"First, I've just arrived, little bro. Second, this is my office Blondie and I can enter however I want; even naked. And third; I want that disinfected." He said and pointed to the desk.

"How I wish the Chinese would've eaten you, Salvawhore!" Caroline stomped her feet like she was a five-year old and that only made him laugh at her and make fun of her immaturity. Stefan looked at him and cleared his throat, taking a few steps forward to greet his brother.

"I have to tell you something and what better occasion than this one?" Stefan said, still embarrassed because of what happened just a few minutes earlier. Damon sat on the couch, waiting to hear the breaking news, because it seemed like this was all he was getting lately. "I asked Caroline to marry me."

His brother's words hit him like a bucket of cold water and he didn't even have time to relax or anything because he was back on his feet in a moment.

"What the hell, Stefan? You're young, live you life, sleep with all of New York. You cannot get married now." Damon protested and it was just for Stefan's sake and he should've known that by now. He didn't want his brother to make the same mistakes as he did; fall in love, move in together and then, when about to propose, to be abandoned.

"Damon! I didn't tell you this to hear your advice. I am happy and I want you to be happy for me." Stefan mumbled annoyed, while Caroline was sitting on his desk, fidgeting with her fingers.

"I'm sorry I cannot be happy you're marrying a soon-to-be whore." Damon hissed through gritted teeth and his gaze snapped to the blonde who was already coming towards him to slap him. He grabbed her hand furiously. "Tut, tut. This doesn't work with me, Blondie. Keep your distance!" Damon warned and let go of her arm and she started to rub it gently.

"Watch your mouth, Damon! I've punched you already, I can easily do it again." Stefan hissed and he grabbed Caroline's hand, ready to leave his brother's office.

"I'm going to prove you wrong." Damon announced as he watched his little brother.

Stefan stopped for a moment and he opened the door again. His eyes were narrowed and he ran a hand through his hair, a custom that Damon shared when he was nervous.

"What is that supposed to mean?" He asked and Damon shrugged nonchalantly.

"It means just what it's supposed to mean." Damon replied and he walked to the desk, sitting in the chair and putting his feet up, like he used to. But really, what was that supposed to mean? He didn't even know why he said it. Only if he could prove to Stefan that Caroline wasn't good for him, he would. She was exactly like Katherine and it was the last thing he wanted in Stefan's life. He loved his brother and he wanted to see him happy.

A few hours later, he grabbed the little box from his desk and left. He wasn't sure if he should visit him, but he hoped that if they talked now, things would get better. Damon stopped in front of the door and hesitantly made a step forward. He raised his hand to the doorknob and pushed the door open. He hadn't been in this place for a long time; maybe a year or so. But he could still smell the tobacco mixed with scotch and mint. It was the smell that he had grown up with and he would probably remember for the rest of his life.

Damon forced his legs to move and once he reached his destination, he opened the door and walked inside. The man at the desk was engaged in a phone call so he decided to take his coat off and wait for him to finish. There were so many things he could tell him but he was afraid he would only make things worse.

"Welcome back, Damon." The man didn't bother to get on his feet to greet him.

"Thank you, Father." Damon said and he pushed the box towards the man.

"Hm, a present. How nice of you. Did you think this could erase all the bad memories you've created for me or..?" His dad started and as soon as he questioned him, Damon stood up and pushed the chair away, leaning his body on his father's desk.

"What do you want from me? I wanted to make peace with you! I want things to be fine! What the hell do you want?" He snapped, his voice filled with his emotions.

"Don't you yell at me, Damon Salvatore! I've always detested the way you treated things with such indifference, like you were the king of the world."

"What is it about me that makes you hate me so much? Why me? Why do you love Stefan so much and you hate me?" Damon questioned, his voice lowered.

"Don't be stupid. I don't hate you, Damon. How could I? You're my son, you're a piece of me." Giuseppe said and Damon could see that he was doing his best to keep his calm.

"Oh yeah? Because hell, you've never been a father for me. You couldn't even put a fucking hoop in the driveway when I begged you to." Damon jerked his finger to his father.

"That's all you've got? Basketball? Why is this even relevant?"

"Every kid should have a hoop." He said, feeling a lump forming in his throat.

"Do you really want to know the reason why we've never been close? Why I've tried to stay away from you?" Giuseppe asked and Damon shrugged his shoulders. Somehow he was afraid of the answer but he couldn't live with that insecurity anymore. Not after what happened.

"You remind me of her; your mother. You have the exact blue eyes as she had, the black hair...even her traits. Stefan is different. He doesn't remind me of her, he's more like me." Damon's eyes started to sting but he didn't want to let his father see how affected he was by his words. He just stood there, listening to all that Giuseppe had to say. Eventually, he said something.

"That's not the best of the excuses." He smiled full of sorrow.

"Does it make you feel better if I told you you killed her?" These last words made Damon turn around and for the first time in his life, he wished he was dead. He wished that he was dead because that...that was something he couldn't live with.

"What are you trying to say?" He asked confused and hurt, but it came out like a whisper.

"Sit down." Giuseppe pointed to the chair he had thrown earlier. "Sit, I said."

Knowing his father and knowing that he wouldn't tell him anything else until he followed orders, Damon grabbed the chair and sat, trying to mentally prepare himself for what he was about to find out. But little did he know this wasn't something he would ever be ready to hear.

"There were some complications, when you were born. Your mother had gotten very sick. She knew she wouldn't last more than a few years and that's why we had Stefan. She didn't want you to be alone. You know that she died when she gave birth to Stefan. But that wouldn't have happened if it weren't for those complications when she was pregnant with you. Is that what you wanted to hear all along?"

Damon took his coat and turned his back on his father. He exited the house of his childhood as fast as he could and walked straight to the car. He drove all the way back to his apartment, while replaying the few memories he had of his mother over and over again. He spent the rest of the day sitting on the floor of his apartment, trying to tell himself that it wasn't his fault, that he couldnt't be held accountable for this. What guilt could a child carry for being born? But as much as he tried to deny it, he felt like he was on the verge of exploding. He couldn't breathe and he couldn't stop hearing his father's voice in his head; _you killed her_. And then there was Stefan, his younger brother, laughing in his face and telling him that he was cursed. Then, his face would change into his mother's face. She would caress his face and soothe him, before she would jerk her finger in his face and tell him that he killed her.

He started to pace the room, searching for something that could make him forget, for someone to hear him out and soothe him, but there was only emptiness around. He was responsible for this; he had built this world of emptiness, a world that he liked to brag about, but in the end, it was all wrong. Damon grabbed his keys and didn't even bother to get his coat. He drove all the way to the other side of the town, to see a person that he knew he could trust.

"Hi. I'm sorry to bother you at this hour." He said and smiled against all that happened, because it was impossible not to smile when seeing her.

"Damon. Are you okay?"

"Can I come in?" He asked, unsure of how she would answer.

"Sure."

Damon went straight to the couch and sat there, in complete silence, his gaze setting on the person in front of him, staring at her blankly.

"Damon, are you okay?" She repeated and his mind started to process the words.

"I killed her. Elena…I killed her." He mumbled, his voice low and his hands shaking.

Elena's face changed immediately and she walked towards the couch, sitting next to him and grabbed his hands in her own.

"Oh my god, your hands are so cold. What is going on Damon? What are you saying?"

"My mother. I killed her, 'Lena." He said and some tears threatened to appear in his eyes but he stopped them, or at least tried to.

"What are you..? Damon? What does this mean?" Elena asked, her hands shaking along with his and her mouth opened in shock.

"My father told me she died because of a complication she had when she had me. It's my fault. All these years I've wondered why he hates me. Of course he does. Who wouldn't?"

"Damon...it's not your fault. Trust me, it is not. Remember the story I told you? About how my parents died?" She asked, sorrow in her eyes. Damon started to regret that he came to her with this problem. He should've remembered that what she's been through was much worse. She actually saw her parents die. He nodded shortly and ran a hand through his hair.

"That means it's my fault, right?" Elena asked, but he felt like she wasn't talking to him, like she was talking to herself or someone who wasn't there.

"No! Of course not."

"Then stop saying it's your fault. You didn't do anything wrong." She tried to soothe him and stood up, walked to the kitchen and came back with two glasses and a bottle of scotch. "Here, you need it." She said and handed him his glass. He gulped it down as soon as he got it.

A bottle of scotch later, Damon was drunk enough to not be able to stand on his own feet. He looked at Elena, who was as sober as possible, because she hadn't had more than a glass.

"You know, he told me I look like her and that's why he cannot stand me."

"Come on Damon, I think you've had enough to drink. Can you get up?" Elena asked and she grabbed his hand, trying to pull him up.

"I don't think so." He chuckled and he saw a trace of smile on her face.

"Here, I'll help you." She said and put his arm around her shoulders. He did the best he could and finally stood up. Elena started to walk to the other room.

"You're not kicking me out?" He giggled amused.

"No. I'm putting you to bed." Elena said and struggled to walk to the bed. Before she could come to help him sit, they stumbled on the rug and fell on the bed, her body being squashed underneath his.

"Damon, you're choking me." She said and tried to push him off her. He did his best to move himself off of her, but their faces were still so close, that he could feel her breath against his face. For an unknown reason, he couldn't stop staring into her eyes. Damon raised his hand and slowly cupped her cheek.

"You are one of the best things that's happened to me lately." He mumbled and smiled. And it was true. She had been the best friend he could've asked for. She had been there for him more than his father, more than any other friend he had ever had. He would be lost without her.

"You are one of the best things for me too." Elena said and she playfully pushed him. He landed on the pillow next to him and surrendered to the softness and the warmth of her little bedroom.

Darkness surrounded the room and he instantly fell asleep, dreaming of a happy childhood and an even happier future.


	13. Bloom

_****_AN: I'm back with another chapter. This is a deal breaker actually and I hope you'll like it. I'll leave you to it now. Have fun!

_**In the morning when I wake**_

_**And the sun is coming through,**_

_**Oh, you fill my lungs with sweetness,**_

_**And you fill my head with you**_

It was when the night was over and the cold and pale winter sun set in the sky that Elena opened her eyes, tired but feeling like she had slept for a week. Her gaze turned to the other side of her bed and her eyes lingered on the man's face. His arm was lazily draped over her stomach and his shirt was crumbled. Carefully, she took his hand and pushed his arm off her. Suddenly, she felt a burning desire to caress his face. Raising her hand up to his face, she stopped just a few inches away, scared that she might wake him up.

Lazily, Elena got up and walked to the kitchen. She opened the fridge and pulled out everything she had bought the other day. She wished she could cook something, at least an omelet, but she knew it would be horrible so she decided on what she had already. She sat on the counter and crossed her legs, patiently waiting for her unannounced guest to wake up. Of course, it was most likely for him to sleep all day long after the quantity of alcohol he consumed.

Seeing that an hour had passed and the house was still quiet, Elena decided to turn on the TV and flip through the channels, trying to find something worthy of wasting time. A few minutes later, she walked to the bathroom and opened the door to be welcomed by a wave of steam. She breathed into the stuffy air and carefully looked into the bathroom, thinking that it was a flood.

Instead, her eyes caught a glimpse of Damon's naked body, under the shower, hot water running all over his body. Elena tried to analyze every piece of him, see if she could find any flaws, but there weren't any. His toned abs were dressed in foam and she felt like they were practically yelling to her; _come and touch_. The way his hair looked when it was wet was purely excruciating. She wanted to touch it, to feel its texture, to tangle her fingers in it and never let go. She didn't realize how long she has been standing there because when he turned around and saw her, she quickly closed the door behind her and rushed to the kitchen, her face turning crimson red.

Elena paced through the kitchen, trying to take her mind away from the image her eyes captured. In fact, it was more like a mini video of an Adonis in her shower. A few beads of sweat appeared on her face and she took a glass of water, sipping from it from time to time.

"Uhm, Elena?" His voice scared her and she dropped the glass she was holding. It made contact with the floor loudly and the rest of the water splashed on her. She turned around slowly, scared that she might find him naked, with beads of water slipping off his chiseled body. Her gaze stopped on him and if she had to be honest, she kinda felt bad that he was fully dressed again.

"Damon...Look, I'm-I'm sorry for earlier. I didn't know you were in the bathroom." She apologized but truly, she felt no regret that she had walked in on him. If the opportunity presented itself, she would probably do it again.

"Pf, it's fine. I should've told you." Damon smirked his authentic smile and she blushed slightly.

"Anyway, let's have breakfast." Elena said awkwardly and she sat down, opening the milk and pouring some into a mug. Damon followed and while they were enjoying their breakfast in silence, Elena couldn't stop wondering what was he thinking, because clearly he was thinking about something.

"It's Christmas in a week. What are you going to do?" Damon finally broke the silence and she lifted her head up from the bowl of cereals.

"I'm going home." She simply stated and he frowned, like he didn't understand her. Well, of course, she should've been more clear about it. Home was Mystic Falls even if she wasn't living there anymore. "Mystic Falls. That's where home really is."

"Right. Sounds nice." Damon said and Elena noticed how his face changed. It wasn't very noticeable, probably anyone else wouldn't have noticed the change. But she was watching him so closely that she noticed every thing about him.

"What about you, where are you spending Christmas?"

"I don't know. Probably in my apartment, with my best friend; a bottle of scotch." He said and smiled, but it wasn't the same one from a few minutes ago.

"Or you could come with me?" Elena said and the next second she mentally slapped herself. Why would she do that? Of course, she loved spending time with Damon, but she wasn't sure she was ready to spend Christmas with him. "I mean, Caroline will come with me. She really wants to see her parents. I guess Stefan will come too. You know they cannot stay apart for too long." Damon rolled his eyes when he heard her last words and she smiled.

"That's a nice proposal, 'Lena, but I don't want to impose. Though I'd love to piss off Blondie a little bit." This time he smirked and it felt like it was real.

"Of course you would. Well, if that's what you want to do, I support you. But...boundaries. Okay?"

He nodded and then she thought about asking him what really happened last night.

"Do you want to talk about yesterday?"

"No. It's done. I now know the truth and I've told you. I don't want to talk about it anymore." He said and had some water.

"Are you going to go to the office today?" She asked and thought about showing him the script she'd been working on, but she wasn't sure he was in the mood to work.

"I don't think so. I thought we could spend some time together. What do you say?" He asked and smiled and her heart skipped a beat because she was happy he wanted to spend his day with her instead of spending it alone, drinking his worries away.

"Sure. You know...I've tried to talk to Dylan. I told him that Katherine is no good for him, that she will ruin him, but he didn't want to hear it."

Damon closed his eyes and sighed and she regretted she mentioned it. Since they found out Katherine was Dylan's new girlfriend, they talked about how Elena should speak to Dylan and tell him she's no good for him. But now that she saw his face changing like that when talking about her, she realized that Damon might still have feelings for Katherine, because every time she was brought up, his face darkened and he changed the subject immediately. And somehow, that made her feel a bit of jealousy even though she had no reason to feel like that. It was just the fact that she had found out how hurt he's been and she had spent so much time with him that it felt really odd to hear him talk about other women, especially about Katherine.

"Then he's an idiot and I'm done with the subject. And you should be as well. Like I've already told you, I don't want to talk about Katherine anymore. She's out of my life and she's never coming back. Now I don't know about you and Dylan but-"

"No! We're done as well. There's no going back to what we had." Elena hurried to say, like her life depended on him knowing this.

"Good. So what do you want to do?"

"I want to watch a movie and eat ice cream. Can we stay inside?" She asked and smiled like a little girl who just got a popsicle.

"Now that you mentioned it, I'd prefer to stay inside." Damon said and got up, heading to the drawer where Elena kept her DVDs. He looked through them and every time he found a cheesy movie, he would laugh at her and say he doesn't know who she is.

"Oh shut up, Salvatore. Like you haven't watch a chick flick ever in your life."

"No, I have not!"

"Well, that is about to change. We're going to watch _The Notebook_, which is not a stupid chick flick, but one of the best movies ever made. And it's my favorite even after all these years." Elena said and took the DVD from the drawer, not waiting for Damon's approval.

"Okay, okay." He mumbled and sat on the couch, waiting for her to play the movie.

"I'll go fetch some ice cream. You can press play." Elena sing-songed as she headed towards the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator and got a big box of Chunky Monkey and a spoon.

"Can we watch something else? I'm not sure I will like this." Damon deadpanned and Elena started to laugh as she sat on the couch and started to eat some ice cream.

"No. Don't be a chicken, Damon. You'll love it."

"Yeah, sure."

Half way through the movie, Elena ran to the toilet and tried to be back as soon as possible, because she didn't want to miss any part of the movie, even if she knew it by heart. She landed on the couch and snuggled up against Damon, who seemed to be really caught up in the story, though she couldn't really tell if he meant it or he did it only for her.

"This is really good." Damon said and she opened her eyes wide in surprise.

"I wish I could have a love like theirs." Elena sighed and she moved her gaze to Damon's face, trying to figure out what it was he thought about. His eyes met hers and they stared at each other for several moments. She could feel the atmosphere charging with energy and it was something that made her skin tingle and she didn't know why.

Elena leaned down towards him and put her hand on his chest. She had no idea why she was doing that but it felt so good, like her hand should've been there. Her face came closer to his and she kissed him. Just like that, in a simple move, she pressed her lips against his. At first it was a soft kiss and Elena was grateful for it, though her mind was so washed up and fed up with him that she couldn't say what she wanted and then it turned into a passionate one.

Damon was kissing her so feverishly that she swore she could see stars. She felt his tongue run across her bottom lip and she opened her mouth to let their tongues meet and fight for domination. He ran his hands through her hair and pulled her closer, that way she was almost on top of him. She ran her hands against his chest, this time curious to explore every inch of it. Elena grabbed the tips of his crumpled shirt and started to pull it off. In a matter of seconds, there he was, gloriously showing off his naked chest. They were kissing passionately and Elena was sitting over him, caressing his neck.

A knock on the door made their lips separate from each other and they looked at one another like they wanted to kill whoever was on the other side of the door. With a quick glance at the door, Elena decided it was nothing of big importance, so she leaned in and closed the distance between their lips. This time the knocks were heavier and it seemed like after a few moments, the person behind the door became impatient because the knocks transformed into sounds of the bell.

_"Elena, open the damn door!"_ She recognized the voice and she pulled away from Damon, not saying anything for a second, just looking at him with her big eyes wide with shock.

"Don't open. You can talk to her some other time."

"I have to open. She'll know something's going on if I don't." Elena whispered and thought about what she was going to tell her friend about Damon being at her place so early.

"So what? You have to stop being so scared about what your friends think about you, 'Lena." He said and placed his hand on her leg, squeezing it.

_"Elena! I'm going to use a hair pin to open this door and you know I can do it."_ Caroline threatened.

"Shit! I've seen her do that a million times. Put your shirt on. I'm going to open it." Elena said and got up, swearing at her friend in her mind because she knew that was probably the first and the last time she would have the guts to do that. Elena took a deep breath and opened the door, smiling at her friend as she did so.

"Finally. What took you so long?"

"I'm sorry. We were just watching a movie." Elena mumbled annoyed and she tried to dissimulate as best as she could.

"We who?" Caroline asked as she got rid of her coat and hung it in the hallway. They walked in the living room and the blonde stopped and stared at Damon, who was sitting nonchalantly on the couch, his legs draped one over the other. He flashed Caroline a smile. "Of course it's him."

"Well, hello to you too little miss _I Wish I Could Just Have More Friends So I Could Hang Out In Other Places As well And Not Always Interrupt_." Damon greeted her sarcastically and Caroline just rolled her eyes. That was strange. Elena sat on the couch, pushing Damon a bit and Caroline sat on a chair.

"I wanted to tell you all the planes are booked to Mystic Falls so we're going to have to drive. But it's okay, we fit perfectly into Stefan's car. Actually, we could take Bonnie as well, if she wants to go." Caroline said and Elena looked over to Damon.

"Bonnie can't come. She's spending Christmas in New York. Her brothers are coming here. But don't save that seat for someone else. It's taken already." Elena announced and she giggled enthusiastically.

"By who if I may ask?"

"Me." Damon said and smirked.

"Alright." Caroline smiled and shrugged like nothing had been said.

"That's all?" Elena raised her eyebrows, expecting the blonde to snap every single moment.

"Yes, that's all. I've decided to take things more seriously and not pick up fight with Salvawhore at all times. We're going to be family soon. That doesn't mean I like you, though." She pointed to Damon who narrowed his eyes. He probably couldn't believe a word that came out of her mouth.

"Hmm, if you say so, Blondie. We're going to spend a great Christmas together."

"Have you two...?" Caroline pointed to the two and Elena realized that she didn't even bother to fix her hair and it probably looked like she has just got out of bed.

"No! Why would you think that?" Elena shook her head and tried to calm down, even though it was pretty hard. She was still longing for his kisses, for his touches.

Why was this happening to her? She couldn't feel something more than friendship. Elena was sure that from the moment they slept together, their friendship would be over and all she needed now was a friend and it seemed like he could be a better friend than Caroline sometimes.

"Okay. Well, I'll go find my way out now. Take care, Elena." The blonde said and flashed her a look that only meant one thing; she was telling her to be careful around Damon and that was her cue that she shouldn't kiss him again nor touch him like she had earlier. It wasn't right and that would only lead to something more; something she would regret later.

"You too." Elena smiled, reassuring her friend that it was all unicorns and rainbows, but it was anything but. She wished she could just act normally around her friends, but it seemed like she had to hide something from everyone.

Unsure of what to say to Damon related to Caroline's question, she just sat in her previous place and played the movie once again. She felt like he was watching her and she was right. Elena turned her head towards Damon and he had his eyes narrowed, like he was taken back by what just happened.

"What?" Elena questioned, trying to figure out what was he thinking, but she had no clue.

"Did you open the door because you really had to or because you regretted what happened and you found this the perfect occasion to stop it?" He asked and she felt like he was going to pull the words out of her mouth if she didn't answer.

"Damon, let's forget about this. It shouldn't have happened."

"Just tell me, 'Lena. What is it about you that you always hide something?" Damon asked and he was getting angry.

"What do you mean? I've told you everything about me."

"And yet you cannot answer this simple question that concerns me too." He stated simply and she knew he wouldn't stop bugging her.

"What do you want me to say?" She asked reluctantly, trying to avoid the direction this conversation was taking.

"The truth. Did you open that door for a reason, Elena?" He repeated his question, this time his tone got louder and she was taken aback by his mood swing. Of course, he was like a ticking bomb. Just say something he didn't like and he's going to explode.

"If I hadn't opened that door I wouldn't have stopped." Elena flat out admitted and he opened his eyes wide.

"Then why did you stop?"

"Because I don't want this!" Elena raised her own voice.

"I don't get you anymore. When I proposed to you that we should be sex buddies, you said it's a stupid thing to do. And then you kissed me and I thought that you changed your mind." Damon snapped and she literally jumped from the couch.

"Well, I didn't. I still think that it's the most stupid thing we could ever do and that it will ruin our friendship. You want that? Because if you do, I could simply have sex with you and then never see you again." Elena snapped, making it sound almost like a challenge.

"What the hell is wrong with you? I didn't jump on you. You did."

"And I said I'm sorry about that. It won't happen again."

"I don't think it's going to happen again either. Because I'm not sure I want to be around to see it happen." Damon mumbled under his breath and got up from the couch. He walked to the door and left her apartment without saying anything else.

For the next few minutes, the apartment was so quiet that she felt like she couldn't stay there anymore. She felt like she was suffocating and without even bothering to change her clothes, she put on her jacket and left the small apartment, going to a place where she knew no one would judge her.

"Elena! It's so good to see you. You didn't call me in almost a week."

"I'm sorry, Jenna. I was so swamped with work that I've completely forgot to communicate." Elena lied. Well, it wasn't a lie entirely, but she couldn't call her aunt. She just had to admit that she was so busy dealing with her personal problems, that she couldn't be bothered to talk to her family. She was so selfish. She should appreciate that she still had a family, even if it was small and instead she couldn't even take a few minutes from her busy life to call them. There was no excuse for this.

"It's fine. Come on, let's sit. I want to hear what's happening with you lately." Jenna smiled warmly and pulled Elena in the big living room and sat her on the couch. She made herself at home, because it was her home. Elena felt so good to be back here that she wished she could stay there forever but she knew she couldn't. She would get nowhere if she continued to live with her aunt.

"Oh, Jenna. I don't even know where to start. You know Damon, right?"

"I believe it's the guy that brought you home that night, a few months ago. Is that right?" Jenna asked, a confused look on her face.

"Yes, that's him. We've been spending a lot of time together and since I'm working for his company now I'm going to see him every day. We're really good friends and I care about him." Elena said, whimpering. She was about to cry and she didn't want to. No, she wouldn't do it.

"So what's wrong sweetie? I think it's good that you have a new friend. That gives you a clean slate with someone new. It can be great." The woman explained and Elena wanted to say she's right, because she knew she was, but it wasn't that simple.

"That's what I thought too, Jenna. But he said we should have sex, you know, since we're both single. Actually, he said we should be friends with benefits." Elena said and she watched how her aunt remained with her mouth opened.

"Elena, I just don't know what do say about this. I don't think that's a good thing to do. It's going to break the both of you and it will most surely destroy your beautiful friendship."

"Exactly! And that's what I told him earlier and he left my apartment, saying that he isn't sure that he should spend his time with me anymore. I don't want to lose him. What do I do?" She asked desperately. Elena needed the advice of her mother more than anything right now and she was so sad she couldn't get it. At least she still had Jenna, who was great with advice.

"I think that you should give it time. He'll come around if he really cares about you." Jenna said and those last words made her think about what really Damon felt about her. Was he spending his time with her only because he wanted to sleep with her?

"And what if he doesn't?"

"Then you have to move on and forget him. It means that he never really cared about you and that he only wanted to sleep with you." Her aunt said and she wasn't lying to her, at least she was sure of that.

"Thank you, Jenna. You made things clearer. I don't know what I'd do without you." Elena said and pulled her aunt in a tight hug. Oh, how she has missed this.

"You're a big girl, 'Lena. You can deal with things on your own. You just don't get it yet."

"Where's Jeremy?" Elena asked and looked around, expecting for her brother to pop out out of nowhere and hug her and tell her that everything's going to be fine, that friends fight and that they always make peace. But he wasn't around, she was sure.

"He's with his mates from college. They're going to a drawing contest or something like that. You should see the things he did this week. They're simply amazing." Jenna said and this was another moment when Elena felt like grabbing her things and moving back in with her family. She got used to picking fights with Jeremy for stupid reasons, like who drank the coffee and checking in on him at night and find him listening to music and just watching him draw. Those simple things, those little things that for others had no meaning, made her feel good and at peace with herself.

"I'm so glad he's made friends and given up on drugs. This is definitely a pro. And if the price for his recovery and for him to be happy is for me to stop being friends with Damon, I'll gladly take it, Jenna."

"Elena, stop tormenting yourself. He's going to come back. I saw him that night, how worried he was for you. He seems like a great guy." Jenna smiled. Elena was amazed of how her aunt could notice all those things from a simple look at people.

"Well, he can be a douche as well. Mostly, he's a douche. But I don't want to lose him. I can live with him being a douche if he can live with being my friend without having sex."

"And that's my Elena!" Jenna cheered her up and in a matter of seconds, Elena was smiling again.

"Thank you, Jenna. I've really missed these talks. You always make me feel better. I love you so much," Elena said and pulled her aunt in a hug.

"How would you like to stay here tonight?" Jenna asked and smiled. "I can make you a hot chocolate with some cream and we can, you know, chit chat."

"I would love to."

When it's all said and done, what can people do to redeem things? You can just hope that it will all get better with the pass of the time and that the person you've hurt can forget it. It's not like she did anything wrong, but she felt guilty about telling Damon that she wouldn't take him up on his offer and then act like this, like she was a little spoiled child. Elena lay in her bed, looking at the ceiling and thought about what happened today. She pulled out her phone and wrote a message; _Goodnight. I will always be your friend, no matter what._

She had realized it now. She couldn't sleep with Damon and it wasn't because she was his friend. She couldn't sleep with him because she liked him. She liked him more than a friend and sooner or later, sleeping with him will make things worse. Maybe it was for the best not to see him again, to end this friendship before she would get hurt. But Elena couldn't stay away.


	14. Remembering Sunday

_**Now this place seems familiar to him**_

_**She pulled on his hand with a devilish grin**_

_**She led him upstairs, she led him upstairs**_

_**Left him dying to get in**_

"Come on, Caroline, we don't have all day for you to put your bags in the car." Elena rolled her eyes. She knew she had been such a bitch the passed few days, but she was too excited to get home, where she hadn't been since she left, almost five years ago.

"I'm ready!" Caroline pulled her head out of the trunk, where she had been arranging her luggage and threw her an irritated look. "Calm your tits, 'Lena."

Elena smiled and she tried to consciously relax. "I'm sorry. It's just that I can't wait to get there."

"I know, sweetie, I know. We'll get there soon." Caroline smiled and she pulled out her phone, dialing a number nervously. "Stefan! How much longer until you and Damon to arrive? I'm ready and you're not even here." The blonde complained and Elena turned her head to see the two brothers getting out of a cab, carrying their bags as they approached them.

"Hang up the phone, Caroline. They're here." Elena smiled and Caroline turned around. She sighed in relief and ran to her boyfriend, clutching tightly to him like a koala bear. Elena stood there, wishing that Damon would come and hug her, but she knew he wouldn't do it. It was her own fault and she was planning on fixing it this week.

"Hey," she whispered and put her arms around his neck, smiling like a little kid, while staring into his bright blue eyes. Elena pulled him closer, into a hug, but he stepped back, leaving her cold and her smile disappeared, being replaced by a pair of sad brown eyes.

"Don't. I wouldn't have come if I hadn't promised I would." Damon said and he put his luggage in the trunk, then walked away from Elena and climbed in the car.

Elena sighed and looked one last time at the couple, before she followed Damon inside. She took off her coat and sat next to him, closing the space between them even if the car was big enough to fit at least one more person next to them.

"Damon, talk to me." Elena looked at him and lifted her hand up to cup his cheek. "Please."

"I think we've said everything we had to say, Elena." Damon grabbed her hand and moved it away from him. "Let's just get this over with."

"So Christmas is a thing we need to get over with? Wow, nicely said, Damon. You know, if you really hate me that much, why did you come? I don't want to spend Christmas-my first Christmas home after five years-with someone who doesn't even want to talk to me."

"Don't be ridiculous, Elena. I don't hate you. I just think that we don't have much to say to each other right now. And I could've easily stayed at home, you know. But I'm a man of my word. At least I like to think that."

Elena nodded shortly and she moved aside, now making the space between them evident. She had lost a battle, but not the whole war. In a week, a lot of things could happen.

"Okay guys, ready to get on the road?" Caroline asked excited as she climbed in and turn to look at the two in the back. She frowned and cleared her throat, making them look towards her. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah." Elena said and she took a last peek at Damon, who didn't say anything, but instead, looked out the window. He seemed like he didn't want to go anymore and she was sad about that, but she wanted to change his mind and she hoped she would be able to. It had been a week since she last talked to Damon, since that day since everything changed between them. Even if she had texted him several times, she didn't get an answer from him, not even when she wrote him that for a while, she wished Caroline hadn't come and interrupted them. It looked like all the interest he had in her was lost that week and she had to think of something that would set their friendship on the right track again.

"So we've been talking and we wanted to have a July wedding but it's going to be too hot then so we've decided to have it at the beginning of June. How does that sound, Elena?" Caroline babbled rapidly and Elena tried to catch up with what she was saying.

"That's great." She mumbled. Normally, she would have more to comment about her best friend's wedding but right now, she wasn't in the mood to talk about couples and weddings, not when she was on the verge of losing one of her best friends forever.

"That means that you have to help me more than ever. It's just six months away, 'Lena." Caroline kept ranting but when Elena didn't say anything the blonde sighed. "What is wrong with you, 'Lena?"

"Huh? Nothing's wrong with me, Care. I don't feel very well." Elena was pulled out from her reverie.

"Are you alright, Elena? Do you want me to stop at a pharmacy?" Stefan asked and he looked to be genuinely concerned about her. She shook her head and she knew that he saw it in the mirror, because he nodded shortly.

From time to time, she took a peek at Damon and a few times, their eyes met and she felt her legs turn to jelly, her insides burn and she smiled widely inwardly, because she knew that he still cared about her, otherwise he would've turned his head automatically when she caught him peeking at her; but he didn't. He looked straight into her eyes and she could feel his eyes burning her face but she didn't care, she could've stayed there, looking at him for an eternity if it meant that he would forgive her.

"We're here." Caroline announced and Elena slowly woke up. She opened her eyes and saw she was leaning against Damon, her head on his chest and his arm draped around her waist. He was almost awake so she straightened herself from him before he noticed what happened.

"I must've fallen asleep." She mumbled and Caroline smiled.

"As long as you're feeling better, it's okay. Salvawhore, on the other hand, has no excuse."

"Oh, bite me, Blondie." Damon mumbled, his voice a little bit hoarse.

"I'm going to go to my parents, Elena. I'll leave you and Damon here and we'll be back in a few hours. Is that okay?" Caroline asked.

"Sure. Just let me take my bags."

Elena got out of the car, followed by Damon, who stretched before opening the trunk. A few moments later, Stefan and Caroline were gone, driving through the streets of Mystic Falls. Elena stopped in front of her house, admiring the view and a film rewinded in front of her eyes; her childhood, every single memory of it was here, in this little town, in this house that was now abandoned but still looked as if someone lived here. Since she was born, she had lived here, in this place, in the house of her parents, that her father inherited from his father, who struggled to build it. Her great-grandfather had been one of the town's founders and that was one of the reasons why she was proud to be a part of the Gilbert family. She was always going to balls, to parties and everyone knew her. That was all gone now, she wasn't part of this small community anymore. Instead, she was living in what used to be her dream town, in New York, where no one knew her.

"Elena. Hey, are you still with me?" Damon asked, dragging her attention towards him. She turned to face him and a tear rolled down her cheek. She was so happy to be back home.

"I'm here." She whispered and smiled.

"We should get inside. It's cold out here. Let me take your bag."

"No, it's fine. I got it."

Elena stopped in front of the door, and hesitated for a minute. She wasn't sure of what she would find inside, she was scared that it might be empty, that every single part of her childhood was lost. On the other hand, she imagined that she would open the door and her family would be there, in the big living room, waiting for her to come home after having a rough year at college, like all parents did for their children. But it wasn't like that. She would never find her parents in the living room of the house in Mystic Falls waiting for her. She would never find them, not here, not in New York, not in any other place.

Instead, she opened the door and saw her Aunt Jenna and her brother Jeremy, in the middle of the room, waiting for her. The Christmas Tree was already decorated with the old decorations from when she was a kid. She smiled widely and tears started to flow from her eyes. This was home. Even if she didn't have her parents anymore, she still had her aunt and her brother. And of course, she had her friends, who were there with her. Elena stepped inside and looked around. It all looked like it had when she was little; nothing had changed, not even a couch was moved from it's place. The fireplace was lit and above it there was a Christmas wreath hanging.

"Oh my God!" Elena cried out and she let her bag fall on the floor and ran to her aunt and to her brother. She pulled them both into a tight hug and she never wanted to let them go.

"Okay, I think that's enough. You're choking me." Jeremy complained and he stepped away, making Elena to roll her eyes at him.

"You're always ruining the beautiful moments, Jer."

"Oh, bite me." Jeremy said and laughed. Elena giggled and she playfully ruffled his hair. She couldn't believe that her brother was a grown-up now. He was going to be nineteen in a few months.

"I don't know about you, but I like the kid already." Damon interfered and Elena turned to him, rolling her eyes.

"Of course you do. Jeremy, this is Damon Salvatore, a friend of mine. Damon, this is my brother, Jeremy." She watched as the two of them shook hands. For the first time, Jeremy liked a guy friend of Elena's and she was so happy about it, it seemed to be a good sign.

"Damon Salvatore. As in _Salvatore Inc_.?" Jeremy asked, his eyes wide open. Elena chuckled sarcastically and put a hand on her brother's shoulder.

"You're talking to the president. While he's here, just bug him with all your questions. And don't forget to show him your sketches." She winked playfully and jerked a finger in front of Damon, as if she was warning him to not destroy her brother's _innocence. _

"I remember you. You're the one who brought Elena home that night, right?" Jenna walked towards Damon and extended her hand to him. "I'm Jenna Sommers, it's nice to see you again. I'm sorry that we had to meet in such bad circumstances."

"Damon Salvatore. It's nice to see you too, Ms. Sommers." He said and smiled gently. Damon grabbed her hand and lifted it to his lips, brushing them softly against her hand.

"You didn't tell me he's such a gentleman, Elena." Jenna slightly blushed and looked to her niece, who was frowning.

"What do you mean? He's a douche." She laughed and Damon rolled his eyes. Clearly, that wasn't a good start. She was going to work hard to make him forgive her, and she was going to succeed. She swore she would.

"Damon, can you follow me? I want to show you your room and everything else." Elena asked as she was about to walk upstairs. Damon nodded shortly and followed her in silence. She walked down the long hallway, looking at all the rooms. She stopped in front of one door, located at the end of the hallway. She pushed the door open and saw the colors on the walls, the huge bed, the drawer and the pictures scattered around the room.

"This is my room. I mean, it used to be. It's where you're going to sleep. Jeremy is going to stay in his old room, Jenna is staying in the room my parents put together for her and Caroline and Stefan are going to sleep in the guest room." Elena said as she walked inside her room. It was just as she remembered it. Of course, Jenna has cleaned everything up and freshened up the room. She walked passed the bed and stopped in front of the dresser, looking at the big mirror, where she hung several pictures of her as a teenager and then pictures with her and her friends and with her parents. She looked at every single one of them and then she looked at that one specific picture, where she was kissing Tyler, the first boyfriend she had had in high school. Then, in the opposite side, there was a picture with her kissing Matt, who has been the first boy she had really loved and cared about.

"You used to have a lot of boyfriends, I see." Damon cleared his throat and pointed at the pictures on the mirror.

"Not really. I mean, it's hard to explain." She avoided the subject. If she would start talking about the guys she has dated, she would have to talk about the mean side of her and about what she had had to do to date those guys and that was a path she wasn't going to walk on right now.

"So where are you going to sleep?" Damon asked and she shrugged her shoulders before answering.

"There's a couch in the living room. I can stay there."

"I'll switch places with you." Damon offered but she hurried to shake her head.

"No! I mean, it's not necessary. I like the living room, it's warm and comfortable." Elena smiled awkwardly and exited the room. "You can always use the bathroom attached to my room, but if not, this is the closest one." She pointed to the door opposite from her room.

"And what about this one?" Damon looked at the door at the other end of the hallway.

"That-uhm-that's my parent's room. Used to be my parent's room." Elena explained and she walked past it, but didn't touch it. "I haven't in been there in six years, since they died. I couldn't open it and I will never be ready to."

"You will, I'm sure of it." Damon grabbed her hand and drew circles on it. She felt shivers run down her spine and smiled, looking into his eyes. He cleared his throat and let go of her hand and she pouted for a while, but didn't let him see it. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.

She nodded shortly and walked downstairs, as Jenna laid out cups of hot chocolate. Elena smiled and hurried to get downstairs, looking over her shoulder to Damon as if to make sure he was still there.

"Come on, my aunt made hot chocolate. With cream, I bet." She giggled and he rolled his eyes sarcastically.

"You're such a girl."

"Hey. I'm just happy."

They walked over to the coffee table and sat on the couch. Jenna and Jeremy sat on the couch opposite to them. Jeremy cleared his throat and took a sip of hot chocolate.

"So, how long have you been dating my sister?" He looked at Damon, who almost choked on his chocolate. He looked over at Elena and then turned to Jeremy, who was waiting for an answer.

"No, we-we're not together."

"We're just friends, Jer. Good friends." Elena said and smiled, bumping into Damon. He didn't say anything but she knew for sure he wanted to. He would've said a lot more things if he could. Elena knew that every single thing she said, every single thing she made and every single time she touched him, he wanted to comment, but he somehow didn't. One of these days he would snap and tell her everything she wanted to know.

"So how did you meet?" Jenna asked. "I never got the chance to find out."

"We met at a bar. We kind of, uhm, bumped into each other accidentally, then we had a couple of drinks together." Elena hurried to make up her own story that she would have to explain to Damon later. "Plus, he's Stefan's brother. Stefan is Caroline's boyfriend. So we met pretty often and got close. And here we are. Friends for life; at least I hope so."

"Hello, family!" Caroline stormed inside, throwing her bags aside as she jumped on the couch between Jenna and Jeremy. She ruffled the kid's hair and kissed Jenna on the cheek.

"I've missed you so much. We live in the same city and I barely see you guys."

"Yeah, we've missed you too, bleached hair." Jeremy bumped into Caroline and she rolled her eyes.

"Of course you have to reassure I haven't forgot one of my nicknames. Well, I just wanted to tell you all that my parents approved of my marriage with Stefan. Not that they had a say in it, but still. Stefan, baby, come here." She waved her hand towards Stefan who was arranging the bags at the door.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Stefan Salvatore, Caroline's fiancé."

"I'm Jenna Sommers, Elena's aunt." Stefan took Jenna's hand and shook it, then looked over to Jeremy.

"You must be Elena's brother."

"Jeremy. And it's great to meet yet another Salvatore."

Hours later, Elena was sleeping in her old bed, in her room. Jenna and Jeremy were out visiting people from the city, who Elena didn't want to see. Caroline was, of course, visiting the shops and analyzing the fashion situation in the small town of Mystic Falls, while Damon and Stefan had left to go grocery shopping. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve and she couldn't be happier to be there, with all of her friends. There was one that was missing; Bonnie, but unfortunately, she couldn't make it.

Elena felt burning lips on her skin and she shuffled, allowing the man to kiss her further, to find the crook of her neck and to bury his head in it, finding that sensitive spot on her that never was explored; no one had found it and she always thought that the person who did find it would be the one for her. He pressed his lips on her skin, down, down, until he got to her spine. He unclasped her bra and when she turned on her back, she looked right into his burning eyes.

"Elena, wake up, Elena." She felt someone shake her body but didn't do anything. She just wanted to sleep more and dream like she had been doing until that someone woke her up.

"Damon, please. Damon..."

"Elena, wake up." She opened her eyes lazily and was welcomed by a pair of blue ones, shimmering into hers. "Elena, are you okay?" Damon asked and he seemed to be worried. What was wrong with her? She hadn't felt like sleeping this much since she was taking those pills the doctor gave her.

"What? Yes, I'm fine. How long was I asleep?"

"It's 7. You've been sleeping for four hours, or so. You were calling my name, before you woke up." Damon said and narrowed his eyes, looking confused.

"No, I...Are you sure?"

"Yeah, yeah I am."

"I guess I was just missing you." Elena stated simply and she straightened herself, trying to get out of bed. She felt dizzy and stumbled on her feet, but put a hand on Damon's arm and recover her equilibrium.

"Okay, something's definitely wrong with you."

"No, I just haven't eaten anything today. I guess dinner's ready. Let's go downstairs. Please, don't say anything about this to Jenna, or anyone else. I'm fine, I promise." Elena said, looking at him with begging eyes. She didn't know what was wrong with her either, surely it was because she hadn't been eating. And being back here, having all those memories come back all at once, it didn't make it easier.

Damon nodded shortly and he opened the door, pointing to Elena to go right ahead. He followed her downstairs and they headed to the big table in the kitchen. Everybody was already there, waiting for them so they could eat. They had stuffed chicken with vegetables and Elena wondered where Jenna got it because it was delicious and her aunt couldn't have cooked that, not in a thousand years.

"Damon cooked." Jenna explained, when Elena asked her about it. She glanced at Damon, who shrugged.

"It's delicious." Elena said and cleared her plate, like everyone else.

"I've got to say, Salvawhore, for an asshole, you're a damn good cook." Caroline smiled and Damon nodded, thanking her.

Later that night, they sat around the table in the living room, laughing at the jokes Damon was telling and playing Pictionary. Elena insisted not to, but Jeremy, Jenna and Caroline seemed so happy about it, that she gave in and formed a team with Jeremy. Jenna played with Damon and Stefan with Caroline.

Jeremy was there, in front, drawing what seemed to be a wolf. Everyone was trying to guess what was it before he finished the sketch, some were louder than the others.

"Puppy!" Caroline jumped from her place, being dead sure that she had gotten the right answer.

"It's a fox. It doesn't even look like a puppy, Care, don't you see?" Stefan interfered.

"It's clearly a dog." Jenna shook her head and gulped down her shot of tequila.

"Wolf." Two voices sounded as one and the ones who spoke the word looked at each other. Brown to blue. They were on opposite teams and yet they worked as if they were forming a team, like they were teammates. Elena smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, while Damon narrowed his eyes, like he couldn't understand a thing.

"So who wins?" Jeremy asked, confused.

"Oh, I know, I know! I propose that the two of them must do some shots and the one that can finish three shots first, wins." Caroline exclaimed excitedly.

"That should do it." Damon extended his hand for a glass. The table was full of them. Elena could swear that there were over 30 glasses there, all full with the transparent liquid.

"Wait, wait, wait. Elena pours the drink in Damon's mouth and Damon in Elena's. It will be more difficult." Caroline established a new rule that Elena wasn't sure she wanted to approve. Thinking for a moment, she shrugged her shoulders, showing them that it was fine by her.

"Let's get this over with." Damon announced and they both picked a glass, tangled their hands together and started the show. Elena lazily opened her mouth and let him pour the cold liquid down her throat. It burned her insides but it also gave her courage. She poured his drink in his mouth and at the end, it looked like Damon won. He smirked devilishly and she blushed as he did so, turning her glance away from him. This was a dangerous game she was playing and from minute to minute, she was losing hope that she would win it. But the one who doesn't play doesn't get a chance at the big prize, so she kept on playing and she would win. She would damn keep their friendship.

At the end of the night, everyone said _goodnight_ and they all headed to sleep, some dizzier than others, but everyone in a good shape. Elena found a pillow and a thick blanket and after watching everyone go to sleep, she lay down on the couch and surrendered to the warmth and good feeling of being home. She would sleep like a baby, that she was sure of. Thinking of all that happened today, she drafted the line and thought that it was good enough. They would be staying here for another six days, six days of paradise that she wished would never end. She slowly faded away, until she could no longer think about anything else and see anything else; but she could hear the cracklings of the fire in the fireplace. She was home.

It was probably late in the night when she felt strong arms lifting her up and carrying her to her room, placing her on her bed and tucking her in. She opened her eyes a bit and met blue ones.

"Damon, what are you-?"

"Shh, just sleep. It was cold down there."

She let her head settle on the pillow and she felt his body coming closer to hers and she couldn't not notice that he wasn't wearing anything but boxer briefs. In her sleepy state, she fell asleep instantly, but not before she felt an arm draping over her waist and a kiss pressed on her forehead.

"I guessed I missed you too." Those were the last words she heard that night, but they made her smile and somewhere, inside, she knew their friendship wasn't lost forever. This had been just a bump in the road and they finally jumped over it.


	15. A drop in the ocean

**AN: Hello! Musie came out to play and this is the chapter I think you've all been waiting for. Have fun reading it! Drop me a review and let me know what you think of it. **

_**A drop in the ocean,**_

_**A change in the weather,**_

_**I was praying that you and me might end up together.**_

Elena woke up to the colored walls in her old room and she wondered what was she doing there. That was the room where Damon was supposed to sleep, while she slept in the living room, on the couch. And then she remembered. He has come late last night and carried her upstairs, tucked her in and cuddled with her.

She turned on her side and watched Damon, who was still asleep. It was the second time since she met him that she had slept with him, the second time she had wanted to touch his face, to feel his skin while he was still asleep, because when he was awake, he would put on this façade that transformed him into a cold man, incapable of love or caring. But somehow, he cared about her and she was so happy that he still wanted her to be his friend.

Elena laid there for a few more minutes, contemplating, trying to figure out what secrets was he hiding, what was going on into his mind and soul. But as much as she tried to decipher him, he became a bigger mystery.

Damon shifted in the big bed and she retracted her hand from his chest, where she kept it since he carried her upstairs.

"Good morning." Elena breathed out and Damon looked at her and he seemed surprised she was still there.

"Hey."

"So are we alright now?" Elena dared to ask but she didn't look into his eyes until he chuckled.

"We're alright." His blue eyes danced with amusement and bore into her chocolate ones. She smiled and for the first time in days it was a genuine smile, because she was so damn happy to hear him say those words.

"Oh, thank God. I though I was going to have to put my master plan into action if you wouldn't have forgiven me."

"And what's your master plan, may I ask?" Damon pouted his lips together and narrowed his eyes, looking pretty interested in what she was about to tell him.

"I'll tell you if we're ever in another fight."

"Then I shall find out someday, because you and me, we're going to burn a place down." Damon said amused but this didn't sound as fun from her perspective. Somehow, it made her think about the worst things and she didn't want to fight with him anymore. Two times was enough, especially because the second time was pretty bad.

"I'm going to go see my parents today." Elena simply said and she watched how Damon's face changed. She supposed he remembered about his mother as well.

"Can I come with you?"

"Sure. It's not a pretty place to go to but-"

"Elena. I'm visiting my mother weekly at the cemetery. Do you really think I'm so afraid of one?"

"Oh.."

"Good morning, Damon. Breakfast is ready." Stefan knocked at the door. "Do you have any idea where Elena is?"

"Uhm, yes. She needed to use this bathroom and look for some of her things here. We will be down in a minute." Damon said and Elena jumped from the bed, going into the bathroom.

"Shit! What are they going to think now?" She freaked out and searched for one of her many bathrobes. When she finally found one, she pulled it on.

"What does it matter anyway? It's not like we did anything wrong. Like I said last night, it was cold downstairs." Damon shrugged. He was right, it wasn't a big deal. They just shared a bed because it was cold downstairs. At least he claimed it was.

After breakfast, Elena got dressed in a pair of jeans and a thick sweater that would help her get through the cold outside. She put on her coat and waited for Damon to get ready. They walked to the car in silence. Minutes later, she said something.

"Please stop here. I'm going to go buy some flowers."

She got back a few minutes later, holding a bouquet of white and red roses. Elena smiled as she gave Damon directions to the cemetery.

"You know, the girl selling flowers, she recognized me. It wasn't pretty. She asked me if I was Elena Gilbert, the suicidal girl who killed her parents." She scoffed as she tried to pay attention to the road in front of her.

"People are stupid. You shouldn't listen to what they say." Damon said as he stopped in front of the cemetery.

They walked to her parent's grave in silence. When Elena stopped in front of the headstone that read _Miranda and Grayson Gilbert_, Damon stopped right behind her, not saying anything. She got down on her knees and arranged the flowers.

"I've missed you so much," Elena whispered through the tears flowing down her face. "I'm sorry I've never visited you. I know I should've done it. But I felt so bad about your deaths that I just couldn't come here and put flowers on your grave and act like everything was alright when it wasn't. I am so sorry!" She cried out, her face full of tears and smeared mascara. Damon put a hand on her shoulder and she grabbed it, holding it tight before he could retract it.

"Look at what I've done, Damon."

"You didn't do this, 'Lena. It's not your fault. When will you learn that it's not?" Damon got down on his knees in front of her, making her look at him. He brushed his thumb on her cheek, wiping away the tears. "Don't. Don't hold yourself responsible for something you didn't do."

She nodded shortly and a new wave of tears hit her. Elena leaned her body against his and he allowed her to rest her head against his shoulder. She was so tired of crying, of living. She was tired of everything. She just wished she could go somewhere where no one knew her and where she knew no one, somewhere she could start again.

"Thank you for being here for me. You're the only one that knows what's going on inside of me. You're the only one that I trust enough to tell you these things."

"What about Caroline?" He asked, completely in awe of what he has just heard.

"Caroline stopped understanding everything about me a while ago. She started to change since she's known Stefan. And I don't blame her. She loves him, she really does, Damon." She said as she got up, helped by Damon. They walked back to the car and he didn't say anything while she talked about Caroline.

"But somehow, you seem to understand me like no one ever does. Maybe it's because we've been through similar situations, but it just feels good to have someone to share this with." Elena continued. "That's why I didn't like the thought of losing you, that's why I've tried so hard to fix things. Because when Caroline gets married, when she's busy raising her kids, I know that you will be here for me. If you don't get married as well. Or fall in love."

"That's not going to happen, I can assure you. I will be there for you whenever you need me." He chuckled lightly and she smiled. Damon pulled a napkin from the glove and wiped away the dried tears and mascara. He gently brushed his thumb against her cheek and she parted her lips instinctively, breathing out. Elena stared at him like it was the only thing she needed to do to keep living and he smiled confused.

"We can go now." Damon broke the silence and started the engine, driving back home.

"Damon, I need to apologize for last week. I led you on and I shouldn't have done that. I am sorry, I really am."

"We don't have to talk about it anymore. It happened, it's okay. I don't get upset so easily. Though I was angry that you couldn't admit it in front of Caroline."

"Caroline...she can be judgmental. And I don't want to be judged, not anymore. My whole life I've been judged and I'm so tired of it." Elena sighed and he nodded shortly, making her think that he understood what she meant.

"Okay."

"So can we forget about the kiss?"

"What kiss?" He asked, making her smile. In less than five minutes, they were back home, where everybody was waiting for them. Elena wondered what plans they had for the rest of the day. It was only 10 in the morning and she was already tired, even if she had just woken up two hours ago.

"I talked to Stefan and tomorrow we're going skiing." Caroline said enthusiastically, while clapping her hands. Elena rolled her eyes amused and looked at Damon, who looked like he was about to choke the blonde. Truth was that she could be annoying; and she could really act like a child.

"That sounds good. I miss skiing, I haven't done it in years. I don't even know if I can get on a slope anymore." Elena said and she collapsed on the couch noisily, stretching her legs. "I need a massage. Maybe I can talk Jeremy into it." She smirked devilishly and looked to her brother who was playing some video games behind her.

"That's not going to happen." Jeremy said, without bothering to look at his sister.

"What are you playing?" Damon asked and sat next to Jeremy, taking the free controller.

Fifteen minutes later, they were still playing and Damon was beating Jeremy every time.

"Man, I give up. You're a professional gamer."

"See, Stef? Told you that if father fires me, I can find something else to do." Damon said and stood up, stretching his arms in the air.

Elena looked at her friends. They all looked so calm, so peaceful and that made her feel the same. Seeing every single gesture, every smile, seeing Caroline sneaking a kiss on Stefan's cheek and then him turning around and pressing a soft kiss on her lips. Watching her brother drawing and looking at her aunt trying to make a coffee and throwing stuff around.

And then there was Damon, who was on the porch, talking on the phone and looking pretty angry. Elena stood up and walked to the window, looking at him. He looked so beautiful even when he was angry. She smiled and put her hand on the window, trying to touch him even though she couldn't. He turned around and saw her and his eyes opened wide before his lips mimicked a smile and she quickly let her hand down. A few moments later, the door opened and he motioned for her to come outside.

Elena exited the house and leaned against the wooden railing, looking at Damon, who was pacing the length of the little porch. He ran a hand through his hair and she knew at that moment that something upset him, because that was a tell he only did when he was nervous.

"Katherine." He simply stated and Elena sighed, wondering how she got in this situation in the first place. When did she start to worry about Damon's ex-girlfriend? And then she remembered that she was dating her ex-boyfriend and it enraged her, not because she still cared about Dylan, but because she knew how mean and ruthless Katherine was. She was afraid that she might ruin Dylan's life like she did Damon's. And sometimes she thought that Katherine was going out with him just to make Damon jealous and there were times when Elena thought she succeeded, but then again, she couldn't be sure of anything.

"Oh. Did something happen?"

"She just called to bug me, like always. I hung up on her after I told her to fuck off." Damon said and he opened the door for them to go back inside. "Come on, it's cold outside."

"Go inside. I'll be there soon."

She stood there, watching the sun set in the sky. The night was slowly settling in and the sky was dark blue as some pale stars started to shine. Elena looked at everything around her; it was so beautiful, she wished she could stay there forever.

Elena opened the door in silence and saw everyone inside watching something on TV in silence. The voices coming from the TV were familiar to her. So familiar, that she could swear she was going insane at the sound of them. Elena took a few more steps and she stopped right in the middle of the living room, watching the screen as if was something sacred. And it was, for her. Apparently, Jenna has found some old home videos of her parents, because there, on the screen, they were. Her mother was braiding Elena's long hair and her father was playing basketball with Jeremy. Jenna was filming it and she turned the camera from time to time towards herself, smiling widely. This video was pretty old, because Elena was about 10 years old.

_"Mom, can I get a haircut?" _The little girl in the video asked, turning to the woman who was braiding her hair.

_"You can, but after a while you're going to be sorry that you've cut your beautiful hair." _Her mother explained and little Elena pouted a little but she was smiling again the next minute, watching her brother trying to steal the ball from his father.

_"Mommy, mommy, watch me. I stole the ball from daddy." _

_"Good job, sweetie. Now go and score for mommy and 'Lena, okay?" _Miranda smiled and pinched her son's chubby cheek, before watching him run away with the ball and struggle to hit the target.

"Oh my God!" Elena whispered and put her hand on her mouth. Tears started to well up in her eyes and everyone else turned around to look at her.

"Elena, I'm so sorry. I'm going to turn it off right now." Caroline said and she took the remote, trying to stop it as soon as possible.

"No!" Elena raised her hand in the air to stop her and Caroline put the remote down. She took a few steps forward but she never got to them, to the couch. She just stopped a little bit closer and stared blankly at the screen, allowing the tears to wet her face.

"We were looking through the boxes and I found that and I wanted to see what's on it. I'm sorry, Elena." Caroline explained once again and Elena nodded shortly, reassuring her friend that she didn't do anything wrong. And she didn't. It wasn't her fault that those videos and those memories affected her. It was her own fault and she had to live with it. But someday she would look at these videos and she would be able to talk about her parents without thinking she was responsible for their deaths. But right now, she was still that stupid teenager who caused the accident that killed her parents.

"Don't worry, Caroline. I feel fine. I was just so overwhelmed to see this that I couldn't not cry. I haven't watched those videos since they died. I don't know if I would've done it someday. But I'm glad I did now." She smiled and she tried to make it seem real. Her friend looked at her and gave her an apologetic smile and she moved closer to them, sitting next to her brother who was still looking at the video but not saying anything. Elena knew that over the years, he had watched those videos and he had read every single thing about them.

Over the next two hours they had dinner and played Monopoly. Of course, Damon cooked. He seemed to be a brilliant cook because everyone cleared their plates for the second night in a row. And Caroline insisted to play a game every night so they could cheer up. It was Christmas Eve and Elena felt like she couldn't be happier. She didn't need a boyfriend to be happy. She only needed her family and her friends. The Christmas tree was shining brightly in the corner, with it's big star reaching the ceiling.

Elena was left there, alone, again. It was after midnight and this time she couldn't sleep, she felt like she was choking, she couldn't breathe. She only wanted one thing and that was to not be alone. Not tonight. But if she did what she really wanted to do, she would probably end up regretting it first thing tomorrow morning. But the feeling she had inside of her was so strong, so much more powerful than her that she couldn't stop her body from moving towards the place she wanted to be at the most. She got up from the couch and wrapped the blanket around her. Elena slowly walked upstairs on her tiptoes, trying not to be heard. She stopped in front of the door to her old room and cracked the door open.

"Can I come in?" She whispered and saw Damon sitting up in the darkness.

"Sure." He said, his voice hoarse but sounding as sexy as ever.

She tiptoed in the room and let the blanket fall to the floor, remaining in her tight top and shorts. She climbed in the bed and pulled the sheets over her slim body and looked at Damon, who was watching her every move, probably trying to figure out what she wanted.

"Can I sleep with you? I don't want to stay alone downstairs."

"You can stay here. I'm going to go and sleep downstairs." Damon offered and he was ready to get out of the bed when Elena grabbed his hand.

"No, stay here. I said I don't want to be alone. Not there and not here. Stay with me, please." She begged him and he nodded shortly, before laying down again. Elena closed the space between them and she rested her head against his chest, using his pecs like her own makeshift pillow. He was so warm that she never wanted to leave his side.

After minutes of laying awake and thinking, Elena rolled on her front and inhaled in his scent, deciding what to do. She couldn't sleep and that was because his presence there was bothering her. And what would bother her even more was if he wouldn't be there, breathing the same air as she did, sleeping in the same bed that she did.

"Damon, are you sleeping?" Elena ran her hand on his upper arm.

"What?" He growled, but she could tell he wasn't angry but instead tired.

"Let's do this." Elena said and she was probably going to regret it later on, but right now, she hadn't been more sure of something in her entire life.

"What are you saying?" Damon asked as he rubbed his eyes and tried to find the switch for the lamp. Elena grabbed his hand to stop him and make him pay attention to her.

"I'm saying that you are right. You've been right all this time. I should've seen it before but I didn't because I...well, I don't know why. But I want to do this. It may result in a massive disaster but I'm in." She looked into his eyes and she noticed how confused he looked. "Damon, I don't want to be just your friend anymore. I like you and we should try and see if this is going to work. And I really hope it's going to last for a while."

"Wait, are you really saying what I think you are?" He asked, completely amazed by what she was telling him. His blue eyes bore into her chocolate ones and she nodded shortly. There was no going back; that was for sure. She wanted to do this so badly that she could listen to all the critics in her life and not give a damn about what they had to say, because for once, it was her free will that made her do this, that made her say those words and start this.

The next minute, he was hovering above her and crushed his lips against hers. His lips were intoxicating and she wanted to feel them there forever. God, this felt so good that she couldn't remember why she didn't she agreed to it earlier. She could've saved days of misery.

Damon pulled out the hair tie from her hair and tangled his fingers into her brown tresses, feeling it's soft texture. She pressed her chest to his, that way that he could feel every beat of her heart like it was his own. Elena brought her hands to his face, cupping his cheeks and slowly slipped her tongue into his mouth. Their tongues brushed, igniting a fire that she had no idea existed inside of her. It felt so unreal that she was afraid that if someone pinched her, she would be out of her dream and left with nothing but tears to dry and beautiful fantasies.

"I want you so badly," Damon whispered through breaths of fresh air and she hushed him. Instead, Elena pulled on his bottom lip, making him groan in pleasure. "Jesus!"

His hands moved to her hips, warming her, protecting her, while she gripped the back of his neck with one hand and gently scratched his scalp with the other. Damon's lips tenderly moved to her neck, kissing her softly and sending shivers down her spine, causing her to tremble slightly. Her back arched when his hands traced her curves and she felt her body tingling in anticipation to what was coming next. As much as he wanted to be inside her, he wanted to tease her, to make sure she was his and then give her all he had.

Elena allowed her hands to move along his stomach to explore every inch of his upper body. He was so hot and not only physically, but mentally as well. She wanted him with every piece of her body and she couldn't stop thinking how stupid she had been that she hasn't realized it earlier. She was so in awe of him that she wasn't sure she could ever forget about this. His hands traveled from her thighs to her stomach and he slowly pushed her top up and up, and he stopped right underneath her breasts. With a moan, she crushed her lips against his and in a matter of seconds, he got rid of the thin material that covered her breasts. Damon cupped her breasts in his hands and teased her nipples until they were hard under his touch. He smirked devilishly and pressed kissed down her neck, until he found that one spot that no one even had found before him.

Elena grazed his shoulder with her teeth, her hands in his black tousled hair, pulling at it for life. Damon's face was buried in her stomach, kissing every inch of her skin, not wanting to leave a millimeter untouched by his lips, by his fingers. "You're teasing me." She groaned and looked right into his eyes, trying to show him how desperate she was for him to touch her, to make her his.

"Yes, I am. I can't stop it." Damon said and lowered his eyes to her hips and then her legs, at the way her legs trembled beneath him, like they were made of jelly and not of flesh.

"I want you," she whispered and without saying anything else, she grabbed one of his hands and positioned it on her thigh. "Now."

"Are you sure?" Damon asked, trying to catch his breath and he hoped she would still say yes because there was no way in hell he would be able to stop now. Even if all Hell broke loose in the next minute, she had to be his. Elena nodded, because she felt like she couldn't open her mouth to say anything else.

Without another word, Damon gripped her hips and positioned himself at her entrance. She was looking him right in the eyes as he slowly slid inside of her. Her walls tightened around him and that moment he knew that she was everything he needed; she was the perfect fit for him. Elena moaned in pleasure as she remembered the dream she has had the other day. Then, all of this sounded ridiculous and impossible, and not only because Damon was so mad at her, but because it would have been wrong. But right now, it was perfect and she couldn't wish for something else in her life.

Her hips started to move seductively beneath him and that was his cue that he needed to speed up the rhythm. Their breaths were shallow and rare as they tried to find the perfect rhythm for both. Damon tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and brushed his lips against her softly. "You are beautiful," he whispered and she smiled warmly. He could feel all of her emotions and that was something that amazed him. She wasn't the simple girl he had saved at the bar anymore. Now she was his girl. He always thought that after sleeping with her, he wouldn't feel the same about her, he thought that she would become a girl like all the others one, but now he knew it wasn't like that. Having her here, now, sleeping with her had only made him want her more, because she wasn't like everyone else. She was Elena; his Elena.

Moaning one last time that night, Elena called out his name and she came, quickly followed by Damon, who still had his hand on her cheek. Her face turned red and a new wave of tingles hit her body, making her clench on the inside. How was it possible to feel this turmoil of emotions? She had never felt that way with anyone and she wanted to believe that he was the only one that could make her feel that way. Damon rolled off of her and pulled the sheets over them and she obliged, but because she wasn't ready to let go of him yet, she pressed her lips against his one more time before she leaned into his body, her curves fitting perfectly with his. Face to face, their foreheads touched, Elena draped her leg over his and his arm rested on her waist.

She looked up at him and she knew that what he felt for her, he didn't feel for any of the other girls he had in the past. That was the reason why she had to say what she said. "Please don't hurt me." Before she could add anything else, he brushed his thumb against her sweaty face, making her shiver, because that was the effect he could have on her.

"I won't." With these last words, their world-yes, their world, because she wasn't alone anymore-fell asleep and she knew, deep down, that he would try his best to keep his promise, because as bad as some said he was, Elena knew that she could be the right one for him. She just had to prove that to him and most importantly, to herself.


	16. Chasing Cars

_**If I lay here**_

_**If I just lay here**_

_**Would you lie with me**_

_**And just forget the world?**_

The sun of the cold winter morning broke through the windows. Elena stirred in the bed, finding the warm body still next to her. She smiled and snuggled closer to him. Damon fluttered his eyes open and as she looked into them, her chocolate doe eyes melted in front of his cerulean blue ones.

"Good morning," she mumbled and stretched her arms before leaning on him and brushed her lips against his.

"Morning." Damon responded to the kiss and shuffled on his back, pulling her on top of him. His hands found their way to her tousled hair, while his lips burned against hers. Damon tried to bring himself up but failed miserably, leaning his back on the pillows again.

"Damon, it's pretty late. We should-" Stefan cracked the door open but stopped when he saw what was going on; Elena was naked on top of Damon, who was also naked. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." He said and closed the door immediately.

Damon started to laugh out loud and Elena slapped his arm. Her eyes had bugged out when she heard the door opening. What would happen now? He was going to tell Caroline and she would freak out and then pick a fight with Damon, who would be angry that Elena was afraid of what her family and friends would think of this, which will lead to yet another fight between them. No, she didn't want that. So it was better for Caroline to see out with her own eyes what was happening before Stefan told her.

"What are you brooding about?" Damon asked as he pushed a stray hair behind her ear, his hand softly lingering on her face as he did so. She welcomed his touch and leaned into his touch, allowing him to kiss her bare neck.

"Nothing. Do you think we should keep this a secret?" Elena wondered and his eyes finally settled on hers after the question had been spoken.

"No. Do you?"

She shook her head and smiled. Of course he wouldn't want it to be a secret. He was probably itching to tell everyone that he got his wish; he finally slept with her. Elena wondered what would happen next. Would he still be interested in her or was that it? She didn't want to think of the possibility of him leaving her alone, but yet there was a question mark, buried deep in her head. She pushed those thoughts out of her mind. She didn't want to think about it, at least not while they were still here. They would enjoy their time in Mystic Falls and when they got back to their lives in New York, everything could be debated.

"Speaking of secrets..." He brought her attention towards him again as he said something about secrets. Her head snapped up and she rolled off him, but didn't go away. Her head was rested against his bare chest as his arm was loosely draped over her shoulder, his fingers magically brushing over her arm. "You didn't tell your aunt how we really met."

"I haven't told Caroline either." She nodded her head, approving of what he was saying. "I don't want them to know, at least not now. I wanted this to be our secret. Does it bother you?"

"Why would it bother me? But you should know that Stefan knows. We talk about everything, 'Lena." Damon confessed. She was happy to know that at least he had a good relationship with his brother, otherwise he would be left with no one to care about him; no one, except her.

"Oh." The thought of Stefan telling Caroline made her frown, knowing better than everyone else how her blonde friend would react to the late news.

"Don't worry. If he hasn't told her by now, he won't tell her now ever. Our secret is safe." Damon said and she smiled widely at his use of the word _our_. Her inner self was radiating with joy because for the first time, they had a thing that was only theirs. That was something that made her extremely happy, because it could mean the start of a new era in her love life. Oh god, what was happening to her? She couldn't possibly feel something more than affection for him. Falling in love with Damon Salvatore would be a tragedy, because his heart was broken and he was incapable of loving another woman. No, she will never fall in love with him.

"We should go downstairs. I bet Caroline's flipping on her ass because she's up before us. She hates when someone sleeps more than her." Elena giggled like a little girl and jumped off the bed. She felt her skin glowing, but above that, she felt it stinging and burning. Then, she turned to watch Damon, who was completely preoccupied with staring at her, his blue eyes burning with desire as she walked around naked in front of him. A growl escaped his mouth and she smirked devilishly as she found herself liking the effect she could have on him. Shit! She just realized that all of her clothes were in her bag, downstairs and she didn't even have a pair of clean panties. What was she going to do? She would have to wear her PJ's from last night.

"I would much prefer to stay here." Damon groaned as his eyes followed her every move. Elena smiled and shook her head, thinking about the possibilities. She could stay here and have a nice time with Damon, or she could go and have breakfast, which was a boring thing to do. Weighing her options, she decided that the first one was perfect but she couldn't just bail on Christmas breakfast.

Elena headed towards the drawers of the closet and she pulled the first one open, to be welcomed by a dozen of pairs of Calvin Klein boxers. She smirked at the sight of them and pulled out a black pair of them.

"You said you don't use just Calvin Kleins," she narrowed her eyes as she slipped in his boxers, carefully adjusting the waist band to fit her. "Sorry, I don't have any panties here." She smirked when he saw his hawk eyes turning from light blue to dark blue with lust. She walked over to the edge of the bed and with her index finger, she traced a path down his chest. Damon narrowed his eyes, before speaking.

"I think I thought that this might happen." He rapidly grabbed her arm and pulled her on the bed, on top of him. Her bare chest was tightly pressed against his bare one and his lips devoured hers, without even leaving her with the chance to say something in return. Elena welcomed his kiss and dipped her tongue into his mouth, making him moan in response. His fingers traveled down her body and stopped at the waist band of his boxers briefs. He tugged on them softly, only to get a purr in response from Elena.

"You're killing me with those." He said as they broke apart to catch their breaths.

"Am I now?" Elena asked playfully as he buried his head into the crook of her neck and started to place butterfly kisses on it, traveling lower and lower, until she stopped him. "We're going to get our asses kicked. Let's go."

Elena got up and finished dressing, even if it pained her to do so. Now it was her turn to watch carefully as Damon got himself a pair of boxers from the drawer and pulled them on. Clearly, they suited him better than her. He lazily picked a pair of sweat pants and a black t-shirt to complete his morning outfit. Damon, in sweat pants! They were something she didn't know he was fond of. She only saw him in jeans and suit pants...and without them. She stared at him and she thought that he actually looked smoking hot in those baggy grey sweat pants. She might even get accustomed to see him like that more often.

"It's not polite to stare." Damon mumbled, slightly annoyed and she guessed that it was because they had to go downstairs instead of spending the whole day in bed.

"It's good for my eyes," Elena giggled enthusiastically and in a second, he had her in his arms, his hands resting on her lower back as he softly kissed her.

"I like to see you like this."

"Like this, how?" She asked and he rolled his eyes at her lack of attention.

"Happy. Now let's go, before I change my mind." Damon said and grabbed her hand, pulling her out of her room. She laughed out loud as he chased her down the long hallway, trying to pin her against a wall and make out, but he failed because she knew all the corners of the house even with her eyes shut. They landed at the big kitchen table with a trail of laughter behind them, making the four people already at that table stare at them as they awkwardly looked at one another. Elena wondered if they were staring at her fresh sex hair that was hastily pulled up into a messy bun or at the fact that she was wearing a pair of short shorts and a top, those being the only clothes that she had in her old room. But not all the eyes were as questioning and as revolting as a pair of blue-green ones, flashing their light against her face; Caroline.

"Good morning." Elena shyly mumbled and sat in her chair. Damon sat on the only free chair, that happened to be right next to Elena's. They didn't accidentally put it there, did they?

"Elena! What are you doing dressed up like this?" Caroline pointed to Elena's pants with disgust. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it when she realized she didn't have a proper excuse to use.

"Uhm, well,...," she struggled to find something but was saved by Damon.

"Elena and I shared the room. You realize I couldn't let her sleep on that couch, right?"

"That means you've had some fun there. You know, horror stories, jokes..." Stefan added and that resulted in him receiving a dagger look from his brother.

"Debatable." Damon said, annoyed by Stefan's interference in the matter. If he made another snarky comment like that one, Caroline and everyone else would realize that she and Damon slept together. Anyway, they were going to find out pretty soon.

"What's on the schedule today?" Jeremy asked as he dipped his head into his plate, lazily chewing some cheese.

"Skiing!" Caroline clapped her hands enthusiastically and Stefan put a hand on hers, squeezing it lightly, in the attempt to settle her down.

"Oh, great..." Damon rolled his eyes annoyed and Elena took advantage of their chairs being practically glued to each other to put her hand on his leg, giving it a small squeeze. She could feel his eyes on her without even turning to look at him and she knew that he understood what she said; no bickering on Christmas day.

"It is, you'll see." Caroline babbled about the sport. Elena was probably going to make a fool of herself because she hadn't been skiing in many years and everybody was going to laugh at her. But as long as they were together and happy, she would do anything. It seemed like the breakfast would go pretty smooth because no one said anything else about Elena sleeping with Damon, but it was only a matter of time until a certain someone would open their mouth and comment about it. Elena wasn't mad about it; actually, she was pretty open to the idea of letting the others know that she was having sex with Damon.

A few hours later they had their equipment on and they were all struggling to get up the slope; everyone was trying to be the first on the top, but of course, with all the enthusiasm, Caroline had been the first one there, cheering and applauding at the others for fighting so hard to reach their destination.

"Yay! Come on, you guys, you're almost here!" She cheered them up and they all looked at her and frowned and Elena inwardly smiled and looked up at Caroline who for a second looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her, but the next minute she had a bigger grin than the one from earlier. This girl was so moody that Elena didn't know if she was taking something for it or it was just natural.

Damon was holding her hand as she struggled to hold the ski sticks and climb the slope at the same time. There was a time when she would do this almost every weekend and she was so good at it, but those times were long gone and now she was moving just like an old lady with broken bones inside her body. When they finally arrived at the top, she wanted to sit her ass down in the cold snow and maybe sleep there for a while, but she knew her blonde friend would kick her ass so she chose to break her neck in her attempt to ski instead of doing what she really wanted to do.

With all of them at the top, Caroline made a step forward and silenced them all. She was probably going to invent another one of her games that no one would like but they all had to play because she could be such a pain in the ass when she wanted something and she didn't get it. So, with a smile, she started to talk and explain to them what they had to do.

"We're going to leave together. The first who gets down-safe-wins. No touching the others or playing tricks to slow them down. Ready?" She asked as she walked behind to take her previous place, next to Jeremy and Stefan.

Unbelievably Jenna was the first one down. They all looked at her with disbelief, like something fishy had happened on the slopes, when it was absolutely nothing. She was simply quicker and that got her the prize; she could pick what were they going to eat that night and which movie they watched. For some of them, like Caroline and probably Damon, if it were about the movie, it was a big deal.

"Again, again, again." Caroline yelled as she dragged Stefan at the top. They found it to be actually fun, so they did it over and over again for a few times. Damon grabbed Elena's hand and helped her to get to the top again, but this time they didn't untangled their hands; they held tight to each other. Jeremy came from behind and gave his sister a little push, who was already on the edge and without any warning, she began to rapidly slip on the snow, followed by Damon, whom, in the matter of a few second, was in front of her, making sure to still hold her hand.

Elena's foot slipped hastily from the path she was supposed to follow and she let out a scream as she fell right on top of Damon. He caught her right in time before she would roll down on the snow and end up hugging a tree. He started to laugh as she was still yelling like a little girl, not even noticing that he was holding her in his arms, his hands tightly hugging her waist. She opened her eyes and gazed into his bright blue ones, that were full of joy at the sight of her being so carefree.

"Stop laughing, it's not funny." She pouted and he brought his lips to hers to make her forgive him. She pushed her pelvis into his and she could suddenly feel his lips stronger on hers. The way they perfectly molded together still amazed her; even after all these kisses. She was fully aware of the fact that everyone was watching them, but she didn't care at all. She wanted them to see that she finally had someone to care about her; and then she remembered that Damon wasn't her boyfriend. He was just her good friend and sex buddy. But for now, that was more than enough. She cringed when a specific person cleared her throat behind her and made her slowly turn to look at her, knowing what was coming next.

"What is going on here?" The blonde asked, tapping her foot as she looked down at the two caught in flagrant. Elena noticed that she wasn't even holding her sticks anymore, which meant that they were going home soon. Elena knitted her eyebrows together when Damon didn't magically snap at Caroline. She looked right at him and noticed that he was waiting for her to give her friend the explanation.

"We were kissing." Elena shrugged and for a second she hoped that was going to be good enough to be left alone but then she remembered that she was talking to Caroline, who needed to know the place of every single comma in a story, otherwise it wouldn't be good enough for her.

"Yeah, I could see that. I'm not blind, 'Lena."

"Good, then you know what's going on." Damon interfered and Elena was grateful that he did so, because she was going to snap at her and that wouldn't be good at all.

"Jesus, Elena, I cannot believe you. It's like you don't even listen to what I say to you." Caroline complained and Elena knew that she was talking about when the blonde girl told her to not sleep with Damon, to not let him get to her, into her panties, or worse-into her heart. It seemed like he had gotten the first two things, but he was most certainly not touching the third. She wasn't going to fall for him. They would always be good friends. Good friends that had sex. It wasn't such a big deal.

She watched as her best friend turned away from them and went to find her boyfriend as they sat there, limbs attached and faces inches apart, heavily breathing with lust written all over them.

"What did she mean?" Damon asked after Caroline left. Elena mentally slapped herself. This was not going to turn into a good conversation. Not at all.

"Caroline told me to stay away from you because you were only trying to get in my pants. Clearly, she was right." Elena said, shrugging her shoulders, while trying to stand up. Damon stopped her by grabbing her arm and pulling her down again for a moment.

"Do you regret last night?"

"No."

"Good." He smiled and let her go, so she could stand up. After doing so, she extended her hand to him and helped him get to his feet as well. They collected their sticks and followed the rest of the gang to the rental shop, to give back their equipment.

"We're finally home! I thought we weren't going to make it back here." Jenna exclaimed as she threw herself on the couch, followed by Jeremy, Caroline and Stefan on the big couch and Damon and Elena on the smaller one. After a few moments of staying there, resting, Jeremy decided to go upstairs and finish some papers, Jenna went to look for a movie to watch, while Stefan and Caroline were talking about their wedding.

"Let's go upstairs." Damon suggested as he messaged her scalp. They were loosely resting on the couch and she was propped against him, her head resting on his abdomen.

"No, we can't bail now." She glared at him and he faked a pout, but she knew that he didn't actually mean it. Elena smiled and brought her lips to his, pecking at them softly, but when he cupped her face and deepened their kiss she didn't say anything, but turned her whole body towards him and she modeled her body after his, allowing their lips to violently fight for dominance as they turned this one simple, brushed kiss into a full on make out session. They didn't realize that the engaged couple was staring at them as they worked their lip magic, right there, on the couch, next to the fireplace. Elena allowed herself to get lost in his kisses and she only broke apart when she felt the need to breathe. That moment, her brother showed up with her aunt.

"You said you weren't dating." Jeremy said, almost confused by the image in front of him.

"We're not." Elena shrugged, hoping he would understand what it was that they were doing without having to explain it to him. At the end of the day, this wasn't something a big sister should explain to her little brother.

"My sister is slutting it up. Hell, who would've thought?" Jeremy chuckled and sat down next to them, pushing Elena's legs down from the couch to make some more space for himself. Damon let out a laugh and Elena slapped him playfully, reducing him to silence.

"What?" He asked, as if he didn't know what he did.

"Look, Salvatore, if I'm slutting it up, then you're way off the rails. You don't get a say in this one." Elena warned him by jerking her finger in front of his eyes. He rolled his eyes and put his arm around her shoulder, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. In that moment, she forgot about everything and felt like they were the only people in the room, when actually they were being watched by four sets of eyes. Elena couldn't help but shuffle in his arms and press a deep, passionate kiss on his lips.

"Elena, do you happen to know where the karaoke set is?" Caroline asked, a big smile appearing on her face as a new idea probably rose in her head.

"Uhm, yes, it's in my room. Why?" The brunette asked, a frown playing on her face as she prayed that the blonde wouldn't say she wanted to do karaoke.

"Because we will sing karaoke tonight." Caroline rose to her feet and cleaned up the table in front of her, making some space for the stereo and the microphones that soon would be put on there.

"Blondie, even you could think of a better idea. Just scroll through your brain and find another activity. Maybe one that includes keeping your mouth shut for as much time as possible, or if not, one that has something to do with a bed." Damon suggested and Caroline threw him a look that told him to not mind her business.

"Oh, just shut up Salvawhore and go find someone stupid enough to stab with your D." Caroline smirked dangerously and Elena's eyes snapped to her and they burned with rage at the sound of her friend's words. She couldn't believe she had just said that.

"Caroline!" Elena shouted, enraged that her friend didn't think about her words before speaking. She knew quite well that Elena had almost slept with Damon several times and yet she was speaking with such condescension now. Of course, she probably didn't know what happened between them last night, but that didn't give her the right to talk like this nor judge anyone, when she was a person who had done much worse in her life. "Stop it, right now!" Elena added and she separated herself from Damon, his mouth was still opened wide in shock. He clearly didn't expect to hear this from Caroline.

"I must say, I'm impressed. I didn't think you would say something like this after you slept with my brother the same day you met him." Damon deadpanned and Elena literally wanted to high five with him because this last words seemed to make Caroline shut up and cuddle deeper into Stefan's arms.

"Okay, you two. Stop being childish and let's do something more fun. Like singing karaoke." Stefan interfered and Damon rolled his eyes at him, probably wondering what part of not singing karaoke he didn't understand. However, at the same time, Elena got up from the comfortable spot she had occupied.

"Fine." She rolled her eyes, annoyed, but tried to look happier so Caroline didn't throw tomatoes at her. "I'll go get the karaoke set. Don't pick another fight down here, please." She mumbled and headed upstairs. As she walked passed the long hallway, she stopped in front of her parent's door and thought about opening it. She took a deep breath and slowly pushed the door open, her hand shaking on the door handle. Her head snapped inside and without realizing it, her legs walked inside and she closed the door behind her. Struggling to turn on the light, she remembered that the switch was next to the closet.

Carefully, she walked along the edge of the room until she felt the hard texture of the big closet and her hand found the switch. In seconds, the room was filled with the white bright light. Elena's eyes stopped to look at everything inside and she sat on the huge mattress. She looked over to the nightstands and pulled one of the drawers open. Elena's mouth opened wide as she saw the big wooden box with her mother's initials carved on it. She knew what was inside of it, she had watched her mother open that box enough times to remember it for the rest of her life.

With shaky fingers, she opened the box and looked at all the jewels inside. There were necklaces, bracelets and a lot of rings; all made of yellow and white gold. There were probably a few silver ones as well, but not too many, knowing her father only bought her mother expensive jewelry. As a teenager, she had always dreamt about wearing all those beautiful things and as a kid, she sometimes stole rings from her mother and as well as necklaces. Now, all those memories disgusted her; it reminded her that she used to be such a shallow girl, one that only cared about money, power and beauty. She looked at the jewels for a few more seconds, before closing the lid noisily.

"Elena! Where on earth did you go?" Damon's voice came from the hallway and Elena jumped from her spot and opened the door.

"I'm here. Come in." She whispered and pulled on his hand, dragging him inside. He looked around and seemed confused that she was there. "I know what you're thinking. The other day I told you that I won't be able to go in here and now you found me here. It's confusing even for me, but when I stopped in front of this door, I suddenly felt the urge to see the room, to see what it looked like. And it's exactly the same as I remember it, Damon. Not a single thread moved from its place." Elena sighed and sat back on the mattress, putting the box back to its place and also found her father's old Rolex in the drawer. She ran her thumb on it's display, before putting it back where she found it.

"This place is nice." Damon said, nodding his head.

"Nicer than your place?"

"You've never been to my place."

"True." Elena smiled and stood up. Damon followed her and exited the room, waiting for her to switch off the light and go after him. She closed the door and turned around, continuing her way to her room.

"I'm going to wait for you downstairs." Damon said and walked downstairs, while Elena entered her room and tried to remember where she had put the karaoke set. Not taking too much time, she looked under the bed and found the dusty box. She blew the dust off it and left the room where she had spent one of the best nights of her life.

Elena tripped on the top step and before she knew it, she was no longer in control of her own body. She rolled down the wooden stairs, her body curved like a ball. She heard her head cracking on one of the boards and she didn't stop rolling down until her leg got caught on the bottom step. She felt her sight blackening and she closed her eyes hopeful that for once, she would get that peace she longed so much for.

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**AN: So much for that joy, huh? Let me know what you thought of this chapter by reviewing it. Musie is happy to read reviews.**


	17. I don't mind if you don't mind

**AN: Did you miss me? Well, I haven't disappeared, I was just out there in the real world, where I can't just write my own story like I do with this. Anyway, I thought I should give you a new chapter as I've left you with a pretty nasty cliffhanger the last time. **

**On the other hand, I have little over 100 reviews now and as well people following my story and a few who have even favorited it. That's just amazing and I want to thank you all! It means that somewhere, in the world, there's a handful of people who actually enjoy this story and I can only be happy about it. So thank you, big times! **

**I'll just leave you to it now. Enjoy it and don't forget to drop me a review (long, short; I'll read and respond as soon as possible). **

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_**My blood runs red from the streets to the sewers**_

_**To the blue black ocean**_

_**I'm caught in the tide **_

_**But I don't mind if you don't mind**_

"What is taking Elena so long to get the damn karaoke set?" Caroline puffed out her cheek in her attempt to stay still. Damon rolled his eyes at her and loosely extended his legs in front of him, tapping the arm of the leather couch.

"She had a difficult time finding it. She'll be down in a few minutes, Blondie." He explained, not wanting to divulge Elena's secret. Maybe she didn't want the others to know she finally had the courage to enter her parent's room. He was happy for her; she was taking steps forward-baby steps- and it could only mean good things.

"Which reminds me, what the hell is going on between you two?" The blonde furrowed her eyebrows and seemed like she was impatient to get an answer from him. Oh, how he wanted to rub it in her face that he slept with Elena, but he couldn't just blurt it like that. Well, rethinking it, he could, but it would probably get him in trouble with Elena and he wanted to get laid tonight; that wouldn't happen if she didn't talk to him.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Damon smirked devilishly, locking his blue eyes with her blue-green ones. "Stop messing with our lives. You should worry about your pink wedding and instead you're trying to find out the color of my boxers." He blurted out.

"What?" Stefan's head snapped up and looked at his girlfriend.

"What?!" Caroline screamed, getting up from her place and making a step towards him.

"What?" Damon shrugged indifferently, amused at the situation he stirred up. God, it was so easy to mess with her blonde little brain. Truth was, he didn't hate Caroline. He could probably get used to her being his brother's wife but until then, he would bicker the hell out of her.

"Help! Damon, come here!" Jeremy yelled from the hallway and Damon jumped from his place, practically running to get to him. His eyes filled with shock as he watched the scene in front of his eyes; Elena was scattered on the floor, her head bleeding and her leg under the stairs in an awful position. He slightly shook her body, trying to wake her up, but it seemed like she was unconscious. What the hell happened?

"Call an ambulance." He told Jeremy and turned back when he heard Caroline gasp and then Stefan knelt next to him, looking at the battered Elena.

"Elena, wake up..." Damon pleaded and slowly pulled her into his arms, carrying her to the big couch in the living room. He carefully laid her down and stepped aside when Jenna arrived from the store and threw the bags down at the sight of her niece.

"What happened?" She asked and checked Elena's pulse, as if to see if she was still alive. Damon shuddered at the thought of seeing her dead. He would never be able to see her dead, he would much rather die himself than witness something like that.

"I-I have no idea. I was coming down from my room and I found her like that." Jeremy tried to tell his aunt, but no one knew how she managed to fall down the stairs.

"Elena, please wake up, Elena! Don't you die." Caroline cried out, a cascade of tears wetting her face, while Stefan had his arms around her waist, shaking her body to calm her down.

"Shut up, you neurotic bitch! She's going to be fine." Damon yelled. He was definitely too freaked out right now to deal with Caroline, but if she said something like that one more time, he was seriously going to get her ass out of the house. Stefan didn't say anything in her defense and it was probably because his brother realized how scared he was that something bad could happen to Elena. The thought of something bad happening to her made him shiver and his blood ran cold inside his body.

"Everybody, shut up!" Jenna said, her calm voice from always now nowhere to be found. "The ambulance is going to be here in two minutes. She's going to be fine. She cracked her head and probably broke her leg. It's not such a big deal." They all opened their eyes in shock as they heard Jenna.

"I know what you're thinking; that _it actually is _a big deal, but it is not, compared to what I see on a daily basis." Jenna explained and the next minute, they could hear the sound of the ambulance and then the door opened and two paramedics with a stretcher stormed inside. They got Elena up and into the ambulance. Damon insisted he go with her and so did Jenna, so they both rode with the ambulance, while Stefan, Caroline and Jeremy took the car to get to the Mystic Falls General Hospital.

"I'm sorry, you'll have to wait here." The nurse told Damon the moment he was about to follow them into the trauma room. How could he stay outside when he was so worried about her?

"I'm her aunt and a nurse, so I can get in? To just watch?" Jenna asked and the nurse nodded and stepped aside, allowing her to pass by. Though he knew Jenna was inside watching over her, he was still freaking out that couldn't do the same.

Damon sat in a chair in the hallway, impatiently waiting for news; he knew he'd be waiting for a while. After all, this was a hospital and she didn't just get a cut from peeling potatoes; she freaking fell from some hard wooden stairs. He shouldn't have left her alone earlier and he should've known that something was wrong with her when he saw her almost fall down the other day. He shook his head, frustrated with himself.

"What happened? Is she okay?" Caroline stormed inside the hospital and sat in the chair next to him and he wasn't even bothered by her presence there. He just wanted to know what was wrong with Elena. Stefan and Jeremy sat down as well, both sitting in silence, waiting for news.

"I don't know. They didn't let me in. Jenna is there, with her." Damon said and the blonde let out a sigh, probably of relief, when she heard Jenna was with her friend. Just when he was happy that she agreed to his proposal, this had to happen; why the hell was he thinking about sex when his friend/sex buddy was in the hospital with her head cracked and a broken leg?

After what seemed like hours but was actually just one, Jenna came outside and the doctor followed her. Damon rose to his feet and hurried towards them. "What's wrong with her? Is she okay?" He asked, dying to find out.

"She's going to be fine, but she's going to spend the night here. I know it's not pleasant because it's Christmas but there is no alternative. From what I understand, she fell down the stairs. She has a concussion and she broke her leg, so she'll have a hard time getting around for four to six weeks. This means she will need someone at her side almost all the time. We also stitched up the gash in her head. Other than that, she will be just fine if she eats properly, because I've noticed a low level of vitamins and glucose in her body, so she's anemic too." The doctor said and the wheels in his head turned from side to side. So she didn't just crack her head, she had a concussion. Add a broken leg and anemia to that and you've got a full chart. Damn it!

"We'll take good care of her." Jenna said, before the doctor left.

"But she can travel back to New York, right? That's where we live and we won't be staying here for much longer, just three days." Damon asked and when the doctor nodded his head he knew it was going to be fine.

"No planes. She hit her head pretty hard, so she'll need rest. Try to keep her from working and from getting into fights." That was the last thing he said, before he headed down the hallway and they all let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Can I see her?" He asked Jenna and she nodded shortly. Just when he was about to enter the ER room, Caroline interfered with her sharp tongue.

"She's my best friend, my sister. I'm going to see her, not you!" She hissed through gritted teeth but Damon couldn't care less about what she was saying. He wanted in and he was going in. The nurse who took care of Elena came outside and announced that they will move her into a room for the night and that after that they could see her.

As Caroline was still rambling about getting to see Elena first and Stefan was trying to calm her down, a man was pushing the bed with Elena on it towards a room. They all followed him and looked at the girl, who was peacefully sleeping. First thing he did after the man settled Elena in her new room was to swoop into the room before Caroline and shut the door behind him. He didn't want to deal with the smart ass she thought she was. Damon pulled the chair from the corner of the room next to Elena's bed and sat there, impatiently waiting for her to wake up, but he knew that it could take a while after the pain killers they gave her. He didn't know when, but he fell asleep, his hand clutching Elena's.

"Damon..." Elena's hoarse voice woke him and he felt her hand running through his hair, caressing his skull.

"You're awake. Finally!" He mumbled as he raised his head to look at her and smiled weekly. He was tired, but he wasn't going to leave her side; someone had to keep her warm at night and that someone was him. "What happened to you?"

"Uhm, I-I was coming out of my room, holding the karaoke set and when I was going to walk down the stairs, I felt dizzy and I stumbled over the stairs and the last thing I remember was hitting my head and then I blacked out."

"I should've known something wasn't right when I saw you walking around like a drunk man the other day." Damon shook his head, admonishing himself for keeping quiet just because she asked him.

"What do you mean something's not good?"

"You have anemia. Add a concussion and a broken leg to that too." He grabbed her hand and drew circles on the back of it, careful not to touch her IV.

"Oh, shit. So that's why I can't feel it." Elena mumbled and she seemed genuinely annoyed with herself.

"They put you in a cast and you'll have to wear it for like a month or so. Then you're going to be able to walk, I think. So you're going to stay home and rest to heal faster."

"But-but I cannot just dump work for weeks!" Elena cried out and Damon smiled like she forgot who was he talking to.

"That's the least important thing right now, Elena. Screw work. I'll fill you in with everything that's going on at the office."

"No, Damon. See? That's another reason why I didn't want to come work for you. You don't take my place in the company seriously. You see me as your friend and you don't care about my work."

"Of course I care. Look, if it makes you feel better, you can work from home. I'll bring your laptop from the office and you will work from there, okay?" He said, trying to understand her concerns, remembering what the doctor said earlier; not to pick fights.

"Okay." Elena threw him a lopsided smile and then winced.

"What? Are you okay?" He jumped from his place, looking around.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. My head hurts. It's like I'm hungover but worse. How long do I have to stay here?"

"Until tomorrow. I'll stay with you." Damon offered but Elena shook her head immediately and he frowned, not understanding what she wanted.

"No, you will go home with the others. It's Christmas, Damon. You should enjoy it, not spend it in the hospital just because I'm stupid and I don't watch my steps."

"Oh, shut up, goofy." He said and pressed a soft kiss to her lips and felt her trying to deepen it, but it looked like the pain didn't even let her do that because she groaned and shuffled on her side, her gaze fixed on him. "Sorry."

"It's okay. But you should really go home now." Elena complained as she played with his fingers.

"I'm staying with you. You'll need someone to hug you at night. Plus, it's a chance to get away from Caroline for a night and I would go to crazy lengths for that." Damon smirked and puffed out his cheeks. "Which reminds me, she probably wants to kill me because I snuck in your room. She wanted to see you first."

"Can you tell her that I'm sleeping? I just don't feel like talking and she's going to ask questions."

"Thank goodness. Though I would've liked to kick her out of the room at a certain time. I guess I'll just keep that idea for later." He shrugged, preferring to spend more time with Elena than with Elena and her chatty friend.

"Damon." Elena purred and the sound made him groan because all he wanted right now was climb into that bed and make her his all over again.

"I'm going outside, to-to tell Blondie she can't see you." He stumbled over his own words as he looked into her doe brown eyes and she smiled warmly.

"Okay." She batted her eyelashes at him and his whole body reacted to the way she was luring him. First she was telling him to go home and now she was trying to flirt with him? Clearly, the accident really had an effect on her.

Damon walked into the hallway, where Caroline was talking to Stefan and she seemed to be utterly disturbed by the fact that she didn't get to see Elena. Jenna and Jeremy were talking to the doctor and he only hoped that he was telling them that Elena was fine. Damon approached his brother and with a smirk, he patted Caroline's shoulder and the moment she turned around, he lost the smile.

"You should go home. Elena is sleeping and you can't see her."

"You go home. I'm not leaving this place without Elena." Caroline said and he rolled his eyes. Damon knew that in her own freaky way, Blondie loved Elena and would do anything for her, but her love was toxic.

"We should go, Care. It's Christmas after all. Let's make the best of it." Stefan said and he gave his brother a look, assuring him that he would take his girlfriend home. Damon nodded shortly, agreeing to Stefan's words but Caroline just frowned.

"But, she's okay, right?" The blonde asked and for the first time Damon stopped himself from rolling his eyes, knowing that she was really worried about Elena.

"Yes, she's fine now. Just tired, so she will probably be sleeping for a while."

"Call me when she wakes, okay? Don't make me come here again and beat you up, Salvawhore." Caroline admonished him in a soft voice, that indicated the fact that this whole situation had her tired.

"I'll call you, Blondie." He nodded firmly and looked over to Jenna, who was coming his way with Jeremy. "Elena's asleep so I was telling Caroline you guys should go home. I'll stay with her." He announced and the woman smiled kindly.

"Thank you, Damon. Call us if something happens, okay?" Jenna motioned to the doctor, who was leaving from the hallway. "He told us she'll be fine though."

"Good. We'll keep in touch." He said and watched them leave, probably relieved for the first time since they left for the hospital. Damon turned around and walked to Elena's room, where he found her with his phone. He must've left it on the nightstand, next to her bag.

"Yours has more games on it. Is that what you do at work, Mr. Salvatore?" Elena smirked playfully and he rolled his eyes at the fact that she addressed him so formally.

"Not at all. Those are for when I'm stuck in boring meetings with stupid people." He explained and looked at her drained face. She was so pale that he wondered if she really felt better or if it was only a prank pulled by her. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, why?"

"Just checking." He shrugged and sat on the edge of her bed and waited for her to shift and make some room for him as well. He laid down and let her rest her upper body against him. "I totally had different plans for tonight."

"We can still have...plans for tonight." Elena smiled and opened a button of his sweater, placing her free hand on his chest. He welcomed her touch, but she had to stop right there, right now otherwise the one who won't be able to stop would be him.

"Elena..."

"What? It's not like I'm dysfunctional, Damon. I can still have sex." He shook his body with laughter as he heard her and looked down at her as she looked up, into his eyes.

"You're nuts." He said and smirked, being regarded with a pout of her own.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you have a cast on your leg, anemia and some sort of head concussion and you seriously want to have sex?"

"Well, no, but-I mean-You know what? Maybe you won't be getting any sex for for a while at all. I can survive without it." He faked a shock face and tutted. She was seriously asking for sex in her hospital bed. This girl had no thread of innocence inside, as much as he'd liked to think otherwise. And as much as he would like to sleep with someone in a hospital, only to add this new territory to his almost infinite list, this wasn't the proper time. Plus, Elena wasn't just a one night stand.

"Can you now? After you've had a taste of _this_?" Damon pointed to his body and watched as Elena chuckled sarcastically.

"Please, I've seen better."

"Now I'm officially offended and maybe you're going to be the one getting nothing after all." Damon announced and a thing popped into his head. "You know, maybe it's a good idea for you to stay here alone. Just so you can think about how mean you are." He said and was about to climb off the bed when she grabbed his wrist and pulled him down where he was just a moment ago with all the strength she had in her tiny, wrecked body.

"No! Stay here. Please?" She asked with such a cute face and he couldn't say no to those doe chocolate eyes and that pouted lip. He growled in agony over the fact that he was once again beaten by Elena Gilbert and reclaimed his position from earlier. "Now, what shall we do to make this more interesting?"

"I don't know about you, but I'm so tired." He yawned and slightly closed his eyes because the next minute Elena was slapping his arm. "Ah, what?"

"You don't get to sleep now, Salvatore. I don't feel sleepy and damn you if you fell asleep and left me by myself."

"Okay, so what do you want us to talk about?" He asked, his interest a little bit heightened. He might be able to find some more things out about Elena and that was something he couldn't kick his foot at.

"I don't know, what about your childhood?"

"Elena," he sighed, "you know about it. It's not something I like to talk about." He said, the ghost of his smile now fading from his face and was replaced by a wave of nausea thinking about his childhood. It wasn't one of the subjects he wanted to talk about, but he did tell her what she wanted to know.

Maybe his childhood hadn't been all rainbows and unicorns after his mother's death, but before it, he was the happiest child alive. Well, except for those times when his dad would get on him for doing something he didn't do or for being better than Stefan at something. When his mother was still alive, he used to go out in the garden and pick flowers for her. Then, he would help her cook because it was all he wanted to do when seeing her happily moving around the big kitchen, swaying to the rhythm of the music. Nothing else mattered for him in the moments when he was with the most caring person he had ever met; not even Giuseppe's cruel words about him.

Damon remember when he got his first camera. He would run around his father and his brother, hell even his nanny and the rest of the employees snapping photos of them. He didn't care if they were smeared, or weird; he kept them all. One day, he counted the photos; there were about a thousand of them and he hung every single one on the walls of his room. That way, he didn't feel the need to sleep with his light on, he knew the persons in the photos would protect him from the evil. Although his father had never loved him like he loved Stefan, Damon still considered him an authority and respected him like the good kid he was.

There was that one time his father told him he wanted to talk to him and he looked so calm that Damon thought he was going to tell him he was proud of what he had become, but it wasn't like that at all. All Giuseppe knew how to do was criticize and punish him. There wasn't a day that went by where his father's words hadn't made Damon cry himself to sleep every night. Then, his father told him he will not allow his son to make a fool of himself; he was going to teach him how to run a company, not how to take pictures. In Giuseppe's opinion, that was for the lower class, for the people who worked at his company.

His son had to be the leader of them all. Damon never wanted that. All he ever wanted was to be appreciated for what he did on his own, not to be talked about what he did and who he was because of his father's money. When he didn't listen to him and he kept on doing what he liked, Giuseppe smashed his camera in front of him. He remembered the feeling of the tears sliding down his face and his inability to stop his father when he started to rip the photos off the wall and crumple them in Damon's face, making him feel like the worst kind of monster in the whole world; he was only a seven years old boy then.

Years later, when he had to go to college, his father made him go to Harvard, saying that whoever goes there, comes out an intelligent young man. Before he knew it, he was being signed up for all the scholarships, for all the contest ever possible. When his father didn't think it was enough, he made him take some more classes, only to brag about his oh-so-dear son to all of his elitist friends and colleagues. For Stefan it had always been easy. He could do whatever he wanted because he was the baby of the family, he could listen to music too loudly in his room while his father was working in his study and he wasn't bothered by it, because the little boy was Giuseppe's treasure. He could go to whatever college he wanted and got to be who he wanted to be. Even after all these years, Stefan was the one that got the congratulations from Giuseppe. Damon was only another one of his employees; one who received a huge sum of money, but one that was treated worse than the other people working for him.

And then he expected him to marry Katherine, just because he was good friends with her parents; of course, that would've brought Giuseppe even more prestige and fame, more respect in the society and a lot more contracts for his company. The second he found out Damon broke up with her, he threatened to disinherit him. Damon didn't even care about that anymore, he just wanted to be left alone. Maybe if his father would've taken away his money, he would've been happier and he wouldn't have felt this huge boulder on his shoulders. It was just when Giuseppe found out about what Katherine did that he came to his son, for the first time in his life, and felt sorry for him.

"Oh my god!" Elena gasped in shock as he finished talking about his not-so-happy childhood. "Your father is a monster. I cannot believe this, Damon. There are people in this world who can't have children and they suffer immensely because of it. And your dad should be so happy to have you, because you've grown to be an amazing human being and he treats you like crap."

"I don't know what I would do if I ever have to stand face to face with him, Damon. I would probably snap the bullshit out of his head, because he's delusional if he doesn't see you and what you are. You're amazing and you shouldn't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"Lucky for you, I won't put you through the burden of meeting him. It's the last thing I want to do. He destroys everything he touches; well, except Stefan. He is perfect for him and I've never really doubted that. Although my brother has never been treated like I was, he grew a backbone by himself and I admire him for that." He said over Elena's long yawn.

"Okay, I think it's time we turn off the lights and dream about ponies." Damon smirked and made space for Elena's tiny body to cuddle into his arms. Although she was wearing that horrible white hospital gown, she still looked sexy and she still smelled like herself. He liked that about her.

"Goodnight Elena." He said and shut his eyes, ready to get that night over with.

"Goodnight Damon." Elena responded in her soft voice. In the next second, he felt warm lips over his and without opening his eyes, he reveled in the kiss and responded to it with his own lips, until Elena pulled away and rested her head on his chest for the rest of the night.


	18. Sweet Nothing

**AN: Here I am folks, with another chapter. Before you get to read this one, I want to thank you all again for being supportive with this story. I can't say I'm not a bit frustrated because I wish all of the followers who read it would drop me a review, even a short one so I know what they think about it, because I am, but I will keep my pants on and hope you're all going to tell me what do you think from now on.**

** Once again, I want to thank Britt for talking me through this, she's a huge help for me, because she's the one who goes through all of the errors on the chapters and makes them perfectly readable for you. These being said, please enjoy the chapter and review it!**

* * *

_**So I put my faith in something unknown**_

_**I'm living on such sweet nothing**_

_**But I'm trying to hope with nothing to hold**_

Elena opened her eyes and saw the white, creepy hospital room. The sun couldn't even penetrate through the windows, as if it knew that wasn't a pleasant place. She let out a muffled groan and looked over to the man besides her. He looked so peaceful in his sleep and she couldn't even see the trace of the man who's life had been ruined by his malicious dad.

She wished she could always see him like that; not vulnerable, but sensitive and caring. Elena looked at him for a few more minutes and then sat up. She sat on the edge of the bed and carefully pulled out her IV, not waiting for a nurse to come take it off. She couldn't stand to be in hospitals, especially with a medical problem. Not since the day of the accident.

The doctors told her it had been a miracle she survived. And just like that, instead of thanking the gods for keeping her alive, she tried everything in her power to destroy herself, to end the misery. It looked like someone didn't want her dead, because here she was, alive and breathing. She looked through the room and spotted in a corner on the table her clothes from yesterday morning; she could not go home like that, in her shorts and the blood stained top. What was she going to do now?

The fact that she couldn't stand up and walk enraged her to no limits. Now she had to wake up Damon and ask him to bring her some clothes. She hated this. If this was going to be her life for the next few weeks, well...fuck it! She couldn't bring herself to wake him up, not when he looked so calm.

"Damon." She whispered close to his ear and ran her finger along his jaw, feeling him stiffen.

His eyes opened slowly and her gaze rested on him, feeling her insides clenching with desire as his blue oceans pierced right through her. She had to put all her willpower to not jump him right there, right then. Not that she could literally jump him in her current state, because of her dysfunctional leg. She inwardly cursed herself as she looked at him and felt her tummy filling with something that made her want to be with him all the time.

"Good morning," he finally said and that distracted her for a while from those dirty thoughts.

"Hi." She answered and automatically a big grin spread across her face. The earlier fantasies came rushing back to her as his hands curled around her waist and carefully pulled her body against his. She let out a whispered moan as she felt his hard length pushing through the thin material of her hospital gown. How she wished her legs would help her right now so she could tangle them around him and close the distance between their bodies, so they could melt together like they did the other night.

"That's a nice greeting you're giving me." Elena smirked playfully and brushed her lips against him, but he pulled away. She frowned and thought that after the other night, he didn't want her anymore. That was it, he had slept with her, he didn't like what he saw and he didn't want her anymore. She held back the tears that were threatening to appear in her eyes and turned her back to him, not wanting him to see that she wasn't okay.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Damon asked as he pulled her chin to make her face him. "You feel fine, right?"

"I'm fine. I want to go home." She snapped and this time a few tears streamed down her face, making him look at her with his mouth open, like he couldn't believe what he saw.

"Elena, why are you crying?"

"I'm fine."

"Look at me!" He requested and when she didn't allow him to see her face, he sat in front of her and this time she couldn't hide. "What's wrong?"

"You don't want me anymore. You've slept with me, got your wish and now you don't want anything to do with me anymore." She cried out and he smiled. Elena frowned, being impossible for her to believe that he was laughing at her.

"Is that what you think?" He wondered and she nodded slightly.

"You didn't kiss me back." She looked down, not capable of looking into his eyes. Damon started to laugh and this was the last thing she allowed him to do, before snapping.

"What's so funny?"

He didn't wait long to look at her until he cupped her face and pressed his lips against hers in a passionate and heated kiss. His tongue slid inside her mouth and stroked hers, making her moan, in spite of her earlier cries. Elena pushed him on the bed and she worked her hands on his chest, pushing his sweater up and over his head. She took her time to stroke his pecs and to run her tongue along his jawline, earning a growl from him in return. Damon ran his hands through her long locks and brought her face closer to him.

"Do you see how much I want you?" He asked, torturing her by pushing his erection against her belly.

"Mhm," she mumbled, not being able to say anything else. The tears that stained her cheeks a few minutes earlier were no longer there and she could only thank the gods because he still wanted her as much as she wanted him.

"Ah-em." Their make out session which almost turned into more was interrupted by the nurse who was making her rounds. "Good morning, Mrs...Salvatore. I don't recall agreeing to let your husband spend the night here."

"Oh, no, he's not-" Elena started but she left her sentence unfinished as Damon ran his hand on her thigh underneath the thin sheet, making her push her good leg into his hips.

"You understand I couldn't let my wife spend the night alone in this hospital. Are the discharge papers ready?" Damon asked and Elena wondered why the nurse called her Mrs. Salvatore. Why would she think she's Damon's wife? Well, probably because she just found them having a hot make out session but why the name? She marked it in her head to ask him later.

"That's what I came to tell you. You have to go to the reception and sign them while I take off her IV." The nurse said and Elena grinned as she pushed her hand in front of her eyes to show her that she was IV-free. "But I can see she did it herself. Mrs. Salvatore, you shouldn't have done that. You could've ruptured a vein, did you know that?"

Elena smiled awkwardly as she heard the nurse admonishing her. "My aunt's a nurse so I've seen her do it several times. I was very careful, I promise."

"Just go and sign the discharge paper for your wife, Mr. Salvatore. I'll fetch a robe for your wife. I'm sure she has no clothes to go home in." Elena nodded in response to the nurse's words because that was just what she thought earlier. She needed some clothes and if she couldn't get any, well, a hospital robe would have to do. Damon stood up and lazily moved out of the room, heading to reception to sign the papers so she could go home.

"I know your aunt. She's Miranda's little sister, right...Elena?" The nurse asked and for the first time Elena saw a smile on the woman's face as she came and sat down besides her.

"You knew my mother?" Elena asked as her mouth opened wide in shock.

"Your mom and I used to be good friends. You looked so familiar and then I realized why. That's how I figured it out."

"Oh.." She didn't know what to say to that. She had never met any of her parent's friends again after their death. She didn't know what to say to them if she had.

"You're young. If I recall it well, barely 22. How come you're married?" She asked and that made Elena's smile grow on her face. If she would've accepted Dylan's proposal, she would be so close to being married that it wouldn't sound ridiculous to her anymore, like it sounded now.

"I'm not married." She said simply and watched the frown forming on the woman's face.

"But, the boy-I mean, he slept here and..."

"He's my friend. You thought I was Mrs. Salvatore because his name is Salvatore and he brought me to the hospital, so they probably registered me with his name." Yes, that was it. She didn't have to ask him about it anymore, because she was sure he would tell her that too.

"Oh, that sounds logical." Elena felt as if her mother's friend wanted to know more about her relationship with Damon, because she looked like she was about to ask her some more; like why in the hell was she on top of him and with her tongue dipped inside his mouth.

"So, can I leave now?" Elena asked her.

"Sure, let me get you that robe. I'll be back in a minute." She said and standing up, she left the room. The next moment, Damon barged in and sat next to her.

"Well, she sure ruined the fun." He said and smirked dangerously, in that way that made her burn with desire.

"We can always have the moment back. And in a much better room." Elena winked playfully and just when Damon was about to lean in for a kiss, the nurse returned to the room and handed her the robe. Jesus, people didn't know how to knock these days.

"I wish you the best of the luck in life, Elena. I'm so happy I got to meet my friend's daughter." The woman said and she pulled Elena into a short hug and then she left, leaving behind a smiling Elena and a surprised Damon.

"Uhm, do you know her?" He asked, pointing to the door as if she was still in the room.

"No, but she was my mother's friend."

"Oh, okay. Come on, let's get you ready. Do you have panties on?" He asked as he stood up and took the robe, analyzing it as if to check if she would be safely covered in it.

"I actually do. Why, did you expect me not to?" Elena grinned like the Cheshire Cat and he rolled his eyes.

"It would've been more...let's say exciting, to leave the hospital with no panties on. We'll leave it for the next time then. Hands up." He said and she shook her head, firstly because of his flirtatious joke and secondly because she wasn't going to let him dress her. She was perfectly capable of using her hands. It was one of her legs that was dysfunctional, not all of her members.

"No. I can undress myself and then I can put on a robe perfectly. I already feel like a spaz, don't make me one." Damon nodded shortly and Elena took off her gown and threw it on the bed, not planning to wear something like that again. She caught Damon's eye as he gazed at her naked self; she was only wearing her panties as her bra was no where to be found. His eyes darkened and for the first time she could see it clear; he wanted her. He actually felt attracted to her. Of course, she knew she was beautiful, but she never thought she would have such a god for herself. And then it came crashing down on her; he wasn't hers to claim. They were just friends who slept together. Once they returned from Mystic Falls, he would probably keep sleeping with a lot of other women, like he always did. She inwardly cursed herself because she thought, for a while, that he would be only hers. She was delusional. She needed to keep that in mind so she could stop herself from feeling something more for him.

Once she was ready, he put his arm behind her knees and one on her back, slowly lifting her up and into his arms. She hated this situation. It made her feel weak and she didn't want to feel weak anymore. She had felt like that for several years and it was time to be strong, to not let anything or anyone ruin her. Against her better judgment, she put her hand around his neck and rested her head on his chest, curling up in his arms as he carried her outside of the hospital and sat her in the back of the car, so she could rest her leg across the back bench.

He drove through the snowy streets of Mystic Falls and when Elena asked him to stop in front of the Mystic Grill, he eyed her from the mirror and she rolled her eyes. What could she possibly want from there?

"I just want my favorite coffee, is that too much to ask?"

"No. I thought you were going on a date." Damon blurted out and it made her look up at him and raise one of her eyebrows.

"Yeah, like I want to go on _another _dateto the Grill." She mumbled sarcastically and he turned around in his seat, before he took his wallet.

"What does this even mean?" He eyed her suspiciously and she raised her hand to gesture that it wasn't a big deal.

"Nothing. It's called the Mystic Special."

"What's called that?"

"The coffee." She replied and then she looked out the window as he walked into the Grill. She wasn't going to tell him how all of her dates happened at the Grill and how all of her relationships from when she was living here were a disaster.

"Are there always so many people here?" Damon asked as he got inside the car and handed her the coffee she had craved so much. There was no day that went by that she hadn't stopped to buy this coffee on the way to school.

"Yes. It's the only, say interesting place in Mystic Falls." Elena shrugged nonchalantly and he started the engine, driving them back home. "So...tomorrow we're going home."

"Yes. It's really nice here, but I miss New York already." Damon confessed and she wanted to slap herself for thinking about the reasons why he missed it. Maybe it was because he had to work, or maybe it was because he wanted to go and lure as many women as possible into his bed, maybe it was because he really didn't like to be away for so long. The third idea was off as he spent almost two months in Shanghai doing God knows what; he couldn't just tell her he had to work for so long, when she knew for sure than in a month, the deal was done. Which meant the second idea was the most obviously the right one and she hated to think that she would soon be forgotten and replaced by other ladies in distress.

"I wish I could stay here for a few more days." Elena said, speaking honestly. She wondered if he would stay here with her if she chose to stay longer. "Whatever, don't mind me."

"I wonder what's going on at the office. I don't really trust my employees. Well, just my secretary but she's on a break as well so I'm really curious if they're doing their jobs." Damon changed the subject and Elena rolled her eyes. Luckily, he didn't see her; she didn't want to explain to him what she thought about him going back to New York.

"I'll look over the scripts they sent me to check when I get home. But Damon, I should go to the office to look for some files I need for this new advertisement. You know, the one for that new spa uptown. I really don't get those people. Why would they open another spa when the mall is right around the corner?" Elena thought out loud. The next few weeks will be pure agony for her; staying alone in her apartment without being able to go outside.

"'Lena, the only thing that matters now is your recovery. Screw work." Damon said and she shook her head. It was like she knew all along.

"I told you I want to work. Just because you're my friend and I work for you doesn't mean I'll treat my job as a night out." Damon stopped the car in front of the house and opened the back door. She knew what was he going to do, so she didn't wait for him to put his arm underneath her knees. She curled her arm around his neck and he lifted her and carried her inside, trying to walk as fast as possible so she wouldn't get wet with snow.

"You're here." Jenna said as Damon settled her down on the big couch in the living room and took his place next to her. Elena smiled and nodded slowly, before Caroline jumped right on her injured leg. It's not like she could feel it anyway.

"I missed you!" She squealed and Elena felt an incredible desire to roll her eyes at her best friend, but she didn't do it. Instead, she patted Caroline on the back as she tried to push her away. It seemed like Damon noticed it and he commented.

"Step aside, Blondie. I can't see because of your big butt."

"I'm so happy Elena's fine that I'm not even going to burn calories talking to you." Caroline mumbled. Elena's eyes opened wide. If Caroline wasn't going to protest to this insult, then she was indeed happy she was fine.

"You actually just did." Damon pointed out and he got one stern look from the blonde. When Elena cringed, Caroline stepped aside and ran to the other couch and cuddled in Stefan's arms.

"I'm sorry, did I hurt you?" She asked in a sweet voice.

"No, I'm fine, don't worry." Elena smiled, assuring her that it wasn't her fault.

"You should go and try to sleep, Elena. Those painkillers they gave you are really strong. I'll make you a cup of hot chocolate, okay?" Jenna came in from the kitchen. Seriously, what was her aunt doing for so long in that kitchen? It's not like she knew how to cook. Neither of them had a cooking bone in her body. At least they knew how to do dishes.

"Okay." Elena nodded. She really was exhausted, even if she slept all night. She playfully bumped into Damon, who seemed to be engaged in a conversation with Stefan, because he didn't hear any of what had been decided.

"Uh?" Damon looked at her, his blue eyes making her forget for a while what she was going to ask him.

"Um, can you take me to my room? I'm sleepy." She said and that was his cue to jump up and lift her into his arm for the third time that morning. Damon slowly walked upstairs and from the way he stepped on the stairs she thought it was because he was trying not to fall like she did. Though it seemed like it was impossible; that man was perfection on legs, he couldn't do something as idiotic even if he tried.

Elena pushed the door open and Damon pushed it close with his behind when he stepped inside. He slowly laid her down on the bed and tucked her in. He probably thought she wanted to sleep, because he pulled the curtains on the window and walked passed the bed in his attempt to leave the room.

"Damon."

"Yes, Elena." He turned his head to look at her and she blushed slightly; he still had that effect on her.

"Stay." He didn't need another word from her. He just walked to the bed, kicked off his shoes and pushed the covers back, only to pull them over his body once he was comfortable. She turned on her side to face him. His face looked serene, like he hadn't gone through so many years of torment and suffering. He looked like a child who only wanted to have someone care about him; and he did have someone. She cared about him and she cared about him deeply.

Elena noticed his eyes darkening with lust as they stared at each other intently for the next few minutes, or so. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh before opening them again. And there he was. She wasn't dreaming about having a man like him in her bed; she really did. She felt a wave of emotions wash over her and in a second, she crushed her lips passionately against his and she felt him moan into her mouth. Their tongues met and stroked each other into their dance, while her hands lowered to his chest and tugged on the hem of his sweater. She broke their kiss and opened her eyes, just to look into his and see if she had the permission to remove the thick material that covered his flawless skin. When he didn't say anything, she peeled the sweater off Damon's chiseled body and she gasped in pleasure, like it was the first time she saw him all over again.

His eyes wandered to her body and she flushed, remembering that she was still wearing that horrible hospital robe. He undid the knot on her waist and let the sides of the robe slide off, revealing her full breasts and her flat stomach. She followed his movements and observed that his eyes stopped at her black panties, which had a satin ribbon right in the middle of the waistline. Damon's mouth assaulted hers and she poured everything she had into that kiss; caring, hopes, pain.

When his hands reached up to tangle in her hair, she didn't do anything to stop him from playing with her locks, curling his fingers around the strands of hair. His fingers skimmed over her stomach and she felt goosebumps inside. Her body ached with desire. She lowered her hand to the button of his jeans and undid it, leaving his jeans hanging sensually on his hips as she worked her magic on the waistline of his boxers. Damon shrugged out of the piece of clothing and he was soon wearing just his Calvin Klein black boxers. Her face reddened when she remembered the other morning, when she wore his boxers because she didn't have any panties in her old room.

His kisses weren't slow like they were at the beginning; they were long and passionate and she felt feverish with longing as he kissed her again, and again. She could feel his arousal against her belly as his thumbs skimmed over her nipples, exploring them and creating a trail of fire across her already sensitive skin. When she pushed her hips forward he let out a muffled sound of approval which filled her with dizzying excitement and satisfaction. As the waves of heat were being sent to her tummy, she could feel the tension building up inside of her.

Elena could feel the blood rushing in her ears and her heart pumping hard and fast. Her tongue moved along with his as she pushed her hips forward, riding him with her panties on. As she opened her eyes, she saw his expression filled with lust and it only made her impatient for the moment when he would be inside of her. He got rid of her panties in a matter of seconds and as he brought his lips to hers, his fingers stopped at her wet heat between her legs. She gasped as he slowly pushed a finger inside of her, rubbing her clit and eliciting a moan from her lips which formed a perfect O. Although she felt herself growing more tired and her head was playing pranks of her, making her feel dizzy, she didn't want it to stop; she didn't want him to stop doing that to her.

Her body asked for more and it was like Damon could read her mind because he pushed another finger inside of her. She wanted to encircle her legs around his waist and feel him even closer to her, but her immobile leg didn't allow her too; she had to just stay there and enjoy while he worked his magic on her.

"Damon, please..." She moaned and tried to catch her breath. She felt his hot breath near her ear and then he nibbled her earlobe. She felt extremely aroused and as his fingers pumped in and out of her, she finally let her body find its release and felt the mind numbing orgasm rip through her. As she let out a muffled moan, his lips found hers again and while they had their own battle her hands lowered to his hips and pulled down his boxers, feeling his hard length pushing against her hands. Elena's hands traveled north and they stopped on his pecs, slick with sweat.

He positioned himself at her entrance and in a shift motion he was inside her. How she wished she could swap places with him and be able to move freely against him but if she could stand above him she would probably crush him with the hard plaster. She was satisfied when he took it slow, her mind worried that she wasn't able to take more of him. His moves were accurate and he reached the exact spot that made her cringe with pleasure. After a few moments, he sped up the rhythm and pumped further into her heated core, making her bite her bottom lip so she wouldn't scream in pleasure with every thrust. Her walls were pressed firmly against him and from time to time she felt like this was her first time; he was the only one that made her feel like this, the one that seemed to fit her perfectly.

"God, you're so tight, 'Lena." His hot breath was somewhere between her collarbone and her neck and she dipped her hands into his black thick hair and brought his lips to hers. Her head snapped back when she felt her second orgasm ripping through her and just a few seconds later, he emptied himself inside of her.

After all that, they just stayed there, holding each other, breathing hard. Elena didn't know what to say; she didn't know if she had to or felt the need to say anything. She was in his arms and she didn't need anything else; she could stay like that for the rest of her life. She felt her lids getting heavier and she closed her eyes, allowing her mind to take a break and her heart to slow down it's beating.


	19. City in motion

AN: I know, I know, it's been longer than usually, but I've been trying to get my projects for school done and as well as other stuff that required my attention. I thought that it's time to post another chapter for you, so here you have it. Please enjoy it and review, review, review (it's been a long time and I really want to hear what you have to say about this)!

* * *

_**Cause when the lights are blinding,**_

_**I don't mind it, if you require my shade,**_

_**But when the nights are darkest,**_

_**All I want is for you to shine my way.**_

"Well, I'm going to miss this. Until next Christmas, Mystic Falls!" Elena whispered her last words and signaled to her brother that she was ready to get in the car. Jeremy and Jenna were going to stay one more day to visit some friends but the rest of the group was heading back to New York. Damon put the bags in the trunk and before she knew it, he was next to her in the car, holding her hand.

"My mom was so sad that I had to go, you have no idea. She practically begged me to stay." Caroline said as she looked through her purse for her sunglasses. It wasn't even remotely sunny outside, but she just told them she needed to protect her eyes from the powerful reflection off the snow.

"She can come visit us anytime, baby." Stefan said and he finally started the engine. He drove slower than he did when they left New York, possibly because the snow was trouble. Elena shuffled in the back of the car and let her head rest in Damon's lap, as her legs were extended on the rest of the bench.

"Does it hurt, 'Lena?" Damon's soothing voice made her raise her head a little and she gave him a goofy smile, followed by her shake of the head. "Good," he smiled.

She had no idea when she fell asleep, but she felt his fingers running through her hair the whole time. Her sleep was easy and not turbulent, like it had been the last few weeks and she guessed it was because of the painkillers they gave her at the hospital. As much as she loved taking them a few years ago, she hated them just as much now.

It just reminded her of how weak she had been and how she tried to ruin her life. She would never be able to forget that dark period in her life, when she almost gave up on living. And if she would've done it, she wouldn't have met Damon, she wouldn't have seen her brother going to college and she wouldn't have seen her best friend get married. She would've lost so much, much more than she would've won.

Elena heard her phone ringing. She lazily opened her eyes and withdrew the buzzing object from her pocket and pressed the green button.

"Bonnie. I've missed you so much. Yes, I'm actually on my way back." Elena mumbled, the exhausting sensed in her voice. "There's a problem with that, actually. I can't come and see you. You'll have to come over." She sighed, before she explained what happened to her friend.

"No, Bon. I had a little accident and I broke my leg. Now I'm stuck inside for like two weeks. Yeah, I know, I'll take care, I promise. Love you too." She hung up the phone and snuck a peek at Damon, who was looking at her.

"About staying inside. Elena, you know someone has to be permanently by your side, right?" Damon raised a brow. She nodded shortly.

"Yeah, I know. I'll just call the hospital and ask them to send a nurse over."

"Forget about that. You're staying with me until you get better." Damon announced and he smirked his signature smile that made girls' panties drop for him; at least that was the effect it had on her. "We'll be roommates, it'll be fun."

"No, no way." Elena shook her head disapprovingly. She wasn't going to let Damon become her personal assistant just because she was incapacitated at the moment. She would much rather have a stranger look after her.

"But, Elena, you-"

"_I_ said _no_, Damon."

"Well, _I _don't care. You're coming with me and that's it." Damon seemed to have proven his point because she didn't say anything else. "Plus, we work together so it will be a big perk to hear the news directly from me and I can help you with your work."

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes annoyed at his points. She knew he was right, but the thought of her not being able to take care of herself made her sick.

"You have to get a wheelchair." Caroline chirped in, making Elena's eyes snap open wide with rage. Good God, these people were going to make her pull her hair out!

"Yeah, thanks, Caroline. I almost did not feel totally dysfunctional." Elena's sarcastic tone cut in.

"I'm sorry, 'Lena, but I have a point here. Unless you want to stay in bed for two weeks, you can get that freaking wheelchair and I don't know, destroy Salvawhore's apartment with it." The blonde giggled and winked at Elena and she couldn't help but laugh at her words, until they sank it. Wait, she was actually going to Damon's apartment? She was going to live with him for a freaking month? This would've been such a great thing if she wasn't in this situation.

"I can walk with crutches!" She snapped and the moment she saw Caroline's eyes filling with unshed tears she wanted to take it back.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Care. I didn't mean it, I swear."

"Eh, it's okay. I'm just melodramatic." The blonde agreed and smiled coyly.

"I'm glad we agree on something." Damon interfered and Caroline threw him a dagger look. Seriously, this man was going to end up dead and thrown on to the side of the road. Elena shook her head. She wondered if they would ever stop bickering. She didn't want her best friend and her friend/sex buddy to constantly fight their whole lives.

Hours later, they arrived in the biggest metropolis of the USA. Her pretend home. She sighed when Stefan parked the car in front of Damon's building. But she couldn't go to his place like this. She needed clothes and she needed them now.

"Wait. Can we go to my apartment first? I need clothes." Stefan nodded and he drove them there, no one saying anything as he drove through the crowded streets of New York. Damon seemed to be really happy to be back though. She recalled him saying that he loved New York and that he could not wait to be back. Well, now they were all back.

"Is it too much to ask you Caroline to go upstairs and pack up some clothes and bring them over?" Elena asked, partly ashamed that she had to make her friends do the job for her. "You know what to put inside. Better than me, actually." With those last words, a smile appeared on the blonde's face and she nodded her head immediately.

"Sure I'll go. Oh, trust me, I know what you need." Caroline mumbled enthusiastically and she jumped out of the car and practically sprinted to the entrance.

Elena's face lit up as she looked at Damon and saw him glancing at her, a little smile playing on his lips. She wondered why he was smiling, but she didn't ask him. Instead, she closed the distance between them and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. Stefan's clearing throat made her pull away from him.

"Mind telling me what's going on between you two?"

"What do you mean?" Elena asked, playing dumb. That was a stupid question to ask. Of course he knew what was going on between her and his brother; he has seen them the other day in her bed, making out and being naked one on top of the other. Why was he even asking?

"I mean about you two sleeping together. You know this is a low thing to do, right?"

"Look, Stefan, me and Elena, it's-it's complicated, alright?" Damon interfered and it seemed to Elena that he didn't tell Stefan about their arrangement. At least not yet.

"It's your problem. But I don't want the two of you to be fighting and even worse-not be able to look at each other later on because this thing that you have didn't work out. It will break Caroline to see her friends growing apart and not only this, but you two will suffer as well." Stefan's words reminded her of Caroline's, but not in the same measure. She told her that sleeping with Damon wasn't an option. Her friend warned her that she would get burned and that she would be hurt, but she didn't care. And right now, after hearing Stefan, Elena could just hope that Damon would keep his promise and not hurt her.

They both nodded ashamed. At least she was. When Elena glanced out the window, she saw the blonde approaching the car, carrying a big suitcase behind her. Elena's jaw dropped to the floor as she saw her. From what it seemed, Caroline grabbed all her clothes; what the hell, she wasn't moving to across the country. She just needed some clothes to last her for a month. Caroline brought clothes for a lifetime.

"And it's done." Caroline giggled, amused and Elena wondered if her friend would always be like that. She loved her, she really did, but sometimes it was difficult to cope with her behavior. What would sher be like when she had children? Will her children be the same? Maybe not, because Stefan wasn't an eccentric guy. But who knew, maybe they'll only get Caroline's genes. Elena shook her head at the thought; why was she thinking about children and genes now?

"You've brought a lot of clothes." Damon stated simply and Caroline nodded as she looked at them from the front seat.

"She needs clothes."

"Maybe she likes to walk around naked." Damon said, winking at her and she felt her face turning crimson at his words; God, could he be more evident to the fact that they sleep together?

"You know, now that I think about it, Elena should come and live with me. I'm her best friend since-well, since kindergarten, while you're just a guy she met a few months ago and whom she likes to screw." Caroline bit out and Elena gasped as the blonde's words sank in. She knew. Her best friend knew that she was sleeping with Damon. And then she wondered how could she not know. Caroline had the eye of a hawk and even if she didn't, it was more than likely that everybody noticed they had something going on because they were kissing and making out in front of everyone. She inwardly cursed herself for her bad choices.

"Caroline, we-I mean, I-" She stuttered and luckily Damon interfered because she didn't know what to say. Why was it so hard for her to admit something like this? Caroline flat out admitted that she slept with Stefan the same night she met him. And Elena had known Damon for months, so it wasn't such a tragedy.

"Are you jealous that you're not getting a piece of me, Blondie? Because sharing is good, you know."

"What the hell, Damon? I wouldn't touch you even if you were the last man on Earth and we needed to repopulate it. Yikes." Caroline made a face that showed she really didn't want anything with Damon. Elena wanted to laugh because she could bet that her friend was attracted to Damon as well. Who wouldn't be? He was dripping with sex as he walked, it was something every woman agreed on. And Caroline couldn't be the exception from that.

"You keep saying that but I don't think even you believe it." Damon playfully winked at his future sister-in-law and she just rolled her eyes. Maybe Caroline didn't want to sleep with Damon. Maybe she loved Stefan that much that she didn't have eyes for another man. But damn, it was so hard for Elena to buy it, because her friend had always been a flirt.

"Okay, enough is enough." Stefan snapped and stopped the car, turning to them. "I don't care that you two are sleeping together, you can do whatever the hell you want. Just don't ruin this friendship that you have and most of all, don't bring Caroline into this, Damon. I know that you two like to bicker and I like it. I know that she's like a little sister to you, brother and that you care about her. But when it comes to this, I'd really like if she would be left out of it; I really have no interest about hearing you talk about you screwing my fiancée. Are we clear?"

"Crystal." Damon said as Elena only nodded her head. She turned to look at him and wondered how come that he didn't say anything else, but just agreed with Stefan. The Damon she knew would've made his brother even angrier and provoke him to much worse talk, but he didn't. She smiled inwardly at his achievement.

"Good." Stefan said as he started to drive again, his hand now resting on Caroline's leg as she didn't say anything else all the way back to Damon's. There was an awkward silence in the car until Stefan parked in front of the building.

Damon opened the door and got out of the car before helping Elena. He put his arm around her tiny body and she shifted in his arms as she tried to find a comfortable position. A man with a hat approached them and Damon looked up at him.

"Mr. Salvatore, it's good to see you. What do you want me to do with the bags?" The young man asked him, pointing to the opened trunk.

"Grab them and bring them upstairs, Daniel." Damon mumbled and headed for the entrance. Elena's eyes snapped up as she wanted to take one more look at the building. She has seen it so many times in passing and she had no idea that Damon lived here; how could she know? It was one of the biggest and most expensive apartment buildings there was in New York. Her head started to spin as they entered the huge lobby with a lot of elevators; but what had her mouth open was that there were at least six policemen, three on each part of the hallway. Man, they really had some protection here.

"Margaret, I need a set of spare keys from my apartment." Damon stopped at the reception desk and Elena looked at the woman he was talking to. She seemed to be a simple girl, maybe a few years older than Elena. Elena felt so embarrassed to be carried by Damon like that. In other circumstances, maybe ones that were more romantic, she would feel graceful, like a princess carried by her prince, but right now, she just wanted the ground to swallow her as she noticed how everybody was turning to glance at them and especially at her.

"There you go, Mr. Salvatore." The blonde handed him a set of keys and he nodded, not thanking her. In the time Elena knew him, she learned that Damon wasn't a man who liked to thank others and she guessed it was because he was doing most of the things for himself.

"Did someone ask for me?"

"Yes, Ms. Katherine came to see you. She insisted on going upstairs, even though I told her you were out of town." Damon's eyes bugged at hearing of Katherine's name. And Elena didn't react any better. If she didn't know herself any better, she would think that she was about to rip her head off if she would have the bitch in front of her.

"But you didn't let her up, right? If you did, you can pack your bags, Margaret." Damon threatened and the girl started to shake her head, scared that he might fire her. In that moment, Elena was on Damon's side whatever he wanted to do, even if it wasn't right for the girl.

"No, no, I didn't let her up, Mr. Salvatore."

"Good." Damon recovered some of his composure but as he saw a certain man walking toward them, he tightened his grip on Elena's back and she let out a sounds, announcing him that she was hurting. "Sorry."

"Hello, Damon. Katherine, always a pleasure. Though I thought you two are over for good." The man was tall and lean and he had green piercing eyes and curly golden hair. If Elena wouldn't have known Damon, she would think he was one of the most good looking men she'd ever seen, but compared to Damon, he was nothing. Her eyes snapped open wide as she heard him call her Katherine. She always knew that she looked like the bitch, but she never thought someone would actually mistake her for Katherine. She wanted to kill her and cut her body in tiny pieces, before feeding her to the piranhas. Elena had never felt this feeling for anyone in her whole life, but Katherine, she destroyed Damon. The woman made sure he would never love someone else again in his life and it was something Elena wouldn't forgive her for.

"Mason. I can't say the same." Damon hissed through gritted teeth.

"What happened to you, Kath? I told you that one day playing dangerous would bite you in the ass." The man said to Elena and she narrowed her eyes. She put her arm around Damon's neck and extended the other to Mason.

"My name is Elena. I would ask you not to mistake me with cold hearted bitches." She threw him a sweet smile that held nothing but hatred towards the woman who was present in their lives even if she wasn't literally there.

"I'm sorry, what kind of game is this that you two are playing?" Mason asked and Damon scowled and he seemed utterly annoyed by his presence.

"What the fuck is your problem, Lockwood?" Damon snapped and Elena started to draw circles with her thumb on the back of his neck, soothing him. She was getting mad and she wanted that man to disappear.

"I'm sorry sir, I don't think we have to give you any explanations, but if it's going to make you leave us alone, then fine. I'm Elena and I'm Damon's friend. Katherine is his former girlfriend, if I'm not mistaken. Are we clear now?"

"Fine. I'll see you at the meeting, next month, Damon. It was nice to meet you, Elena." Her name rolled off his tongue and she hated how it sounded. It didn't sound like when Damon said it; sensual, beautiful and natural.

They walked to the elevator and Damon pressed the button to get them to the top floor. This was going to be a long ride. After the doors closed behind them, Damon pressed his body against the wall and he brought his lips to Elena's, starting a hot make out session right there. Their lips crushed together and it made Elena's tummy clench with desire as he kissed her like there was no tomorrow. Her fingers curled in his hair and she knew he was struggling not to touch her, because he couldn't.

It felt like the ground wasn't under them anymore and her head started to spin as he kissed her senseless, dipping his tongue into her mouth, eliciting moans from her from time to time. Her eyes snapped open after she felt an odd sweetly perfume in the elevator and she knew it wasn't hers; someone had entered the elevator and they didn't even notice. Elena pulled her mouth away from Damon's and she blushed as she saw the old lady. She thought she was about fifty and she was dressed in a light blue dress just above the knee.

"Damon, I see you're back. And you have a new girlfriend. She's so pretty." The woman mumbled in her sweet voice and she smiled at Damon who nodded in return.

"Mrs. Fell, it's so nice to see you. I've missed my favorite neighbor. How's your dog?"

"Oh, Ted is just fine. What's your name sweetie?" She looked at Elena who smiled.

"I'm Elena."

"Elena's going to stay with me for the next month. She's your new neighbor." Damon stated simply and Mrs. Fell smiled, appearing happy that she now had a woman to chat with.

"Oh, that's great, Damon. I like your new girlfriend. She's nothing like Katherine, even if they do look alike." That was the thing that made Elena's smile drop to the floor the next second. And before she could say anything else, the elevator stopped and they were out of it.

"Goodnight, Mrs. Fell." Damon said and with that, he opened the door to his apartment and entered it, pushing the door closed with his foot. Elena thought that he would need a good massage for his arms because he had carried her for the last fifteen minutes and she swore he couldn't feel his arms anymore. He pressed a button and the living room was soon filled up with a white light and she was placed on a big black leather couch. In fact, as she looked around, she noticed that his whole apartment was white, black and grey; ironically, he was always dressed in those colors as well, and they really suited him.

"Damon, who was that man?" Elena asked as she watched him go to what seemed to be a mini bar and grab an old bottle of scotch. He poured some into a glass and sat on one of the armchairs, sipping it from time to time.

"Oh, that idiot? That's Mason Lockwood, an associate of mine. And the man that I thought was a good friend of mine. I was wrong on that one too." Elena wondered what he meant by that and she asked herself if he had anything to do with Katherine, because he seemed to know her pretty well.

"What's his problem with Katherine?" Elena asked and she hoped he wouldn't get mad at her for wanting to know these things; it was just the fact that she had been mistaken asher that made her question the man.

"Katherine and Mason were lovers after she left me. For a short while. Then she got bored and moved on to another one."

"Oh. I'm sorry, Damon." Elena said and looked at him, holding the glass firmly in his hand, the amber liquid shining in the light.

"Well I'm not. If it hadn't been for this, I wouldn't have known what a bitch she was. I would've probably crawled back to her." Hearing him say that made a lump form in Elena's throat and she wanted to go and hug him tightly and ask him to never leave her, because she would be dead without him. But she didn't do it; she sat there, looking at him in silence as he seemed to remember those dark times.

"How many rooms does this place have?" Elena asked, trying to change the subject.

"Five rooms, three bathrooms, the kitchen, a balcony and an attic." He itemized and she opened her eyes wide. The place was enormous! She could get lost in it and she already missed her little apartment, with only two rooms and a bathroom, a kitchen and a very small closet.

"Can you show me my room? I want to get settled in and then take a bath." She secretly hoped that he would let her sleep with him, because she wanted to feel his body next to her and to be warmed by his arms.

"Sure. Upsy daisy." He smiled as he once again lifted her up and walked up the stairs. She looked at the walls and saw that there were some photos of Stefan and Damon and of Damon and a woman that she thought was his mother. There were no photos of his father. She didn't expect there to be. When he opened the door to the room that was going to be hers for the next month, she found the switch and turned it on, taking in the room as he sat her on the edge of the bed. It was all white and it had grey furniture. She couldn't say she didn't like it; Damon had great taste and she could tell not only from the way he dressed, but now from his apartment as well. It was welcoming and there was even a plasma TV hung from the ceiling. It was the biggest TV she had ever seen and she guessed she could watch her whole collection of movies and TV shows there, while eating Cheerios and drinking soda.

"If you don't like it, you can choose another one." Damon said when he noticed she didn't say anything for a while. She shook her head, telling him that the room was perfect for her.

"Then I'll go downstairs and pick up your luggage. Wait here." He said and walked to the door.

"Like I could go anywhere." She chuckled sarcastically and she knew he heard her, but he didn't say anything. Two minutes later, he was back and opening her suitcase, he started to arrange the clothes in the closet.

"Can I take a bath now?" Elena asked and Damon looked up at her and nodded.

"Of course. Let me go fill up the tub for you." He said and she nodded, waiting for him to come back. And he did, ten minutes later, grinning as he walked. "The thing is, I don't have any products for women."

"It's fine. I mean, if I can use yours." She muttered. She remembered how many times she craved to try his cologne and how the smell felt intoxicating to her.

"Sure can."

"I'll ask Caroline to bring me my products tomorrow." Elena said as she prepared her body to be carried by Damon once again. He made their way to the bathroom and she sat on the edge of the huge tub,waiting for him to leave her alone. Because there was no way she was bathing with him inside. At least not on her own.

"Can you, uhm, leave?"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, thank you." With that, Damon was outside the next minute and she was left there, figuring out how to bathe herself. How ridiculous. She took off her sweater and threw it on the floor, followed by her jeans and underwear. Elena slowly sunk into the tub, careful to put her injured leg up on the spot reserved for people to sit. She grabbed Damon's products that he set out for her and pulled the cap off, inhaling deeply as she poured some shampoo into her hand and started to rub her scalp with it.

Fifteen minutes later, she was done and somehow managed to wipe her body and wrap the big fluffy towel around herself. When she was completely ready, she called for Damon, who seemed to be waiting outside the room while she had the bath because he was just a step away from her.

"Maybe I need that wheelchair after all." Elena said as he sat her on the edge of the bed and handed her some panties, a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that she asked for. Damon took his time to look at her black panties before handing them to her and she wondered what was he thinking.

"You sure you want it?" He finally asked as she slipped her panties on, still holding the towel to her body so he wouldn't see her naked.

"No, I don't, but I can't have you carrying me around all the time. Besides, what do I do when you go to work?"

"Well, if it's any comfort, I won't be staying at work as much as I used to. I can work from home too."

"It doesn't matter Damon. I bet you can barely feel your arms and I hate to know that I won't be able to walk for the next month. At least that thing will help me get around."

"Then you'll have it tomorrow." After she was done dressing, she laid on the bed and Damon tucked her in. She grabbed one of the books she had been wanting to read for a long time now and turned on the lamp on the night stand.

"Goodnight, Damon." She yawned and he smiled as he leaned closer and left a tender kiss on her cheek.

"Sleep well, Elena."

_A few weeks later..._

"Damon, look! I can walk!" Elena giggled enthusiastically as she was slowly walking-or better, crawling on her feet-with the metal crutches Damon bought for her with her money; because she shoved her credit card into his nose until he accepted to take it, telling him that she would go home if he didn't let her buy her own things.

His head snapped up from the pile of papers he was working on and looked at her. It had been four and a half weeks and since the accident that stopped her from walking. And now, she was able to walk, even if it was with those crutches because she got to give up on the damned wheelchair. She never had to be in one again and for the first time in her life, she understood how it felt to be incapacitated and she pitied the ones who weren't able to walk.

"Elena, that's great!" Damon jumped to his feet and approached her as she tried to speed up to get to him. "Be careful. Don't run a marathon now." He laughed and when she finally got to him, she let the crutches fall to the floor and she practically jumped in his arms, clenching her legs around his waist and burying her face in the crook of his neck.

"I'm so happy I can finally move by myself." She had been secretly trying to walk with the crutches while he was at work and every time she failed and fell on her butt. She had so many bruises on it that she avoided sleeping with Damon for the last week just so he wouldn't notice. Every time he cuddled with her at night and pulled her body closer to him, she would turn to face him because it hurt too bad to stay glued to his hard body. He never asked why she was doing it, although he probably suspected.

"After so many days of falling around on your ass trying to walk you're finally able to do so." Damon mumbled and she broke the hug, but she leaned on him, as she was careful not to fall.

"What do you mean?" She frowned; he knew it. She was so busted.

"You think I didn't know about your little escapades while you were alone, 'Lena? Please, your butt is purple with bruises and yes, as a matter of fact, I've seen you naked this week a few times, to know it wasn't just one fall. And that's the reason why you've been avoiding sex as well."

"Well I wanted to be able to walk before anything else. Can you blame me?" She pouted a little and she noticed his expression softening and his eyes warming.

"You could've asked for my help." Damon said and she sighed.

"I wanted to do something by myself. You've helped me more than you should've. You've been my personal nurse, Damon, I think enough is enough."

"Fine." She noticed his face flash with sadness and she wondered what was wrong. Grabbing her crutches, she slowly moved to the couch and sat down, pointing for Damon to do the same.

"What's wrong, Damon?"

"You're better now and in a week or so you're going to go home and I'll be alone again. I've grown accustomed to your presence here." Hearing his words made Elena's heart beat faster and she wanted to tell him that she didn't have to go, that she could stay with him all her life, but she couldn't do that. She had to go home.

"Damon, we're going to see each other everyday at work and we can always hang out outside of work as well. You don't have to worry about this." Elena cupped his face with her hand and ran her thumb along his jawline.

"Stay with me."

"What do you mean?" Elena asked, frowning at his request.

"You know what I mean, 'Lena."

"No, I actually don't." She had no idea what he meant, she really didn't.

"Move in with me, Elena." He had her mouth open with his words. She never expected him to ask her that, not in a thousand years. Last time he had asked a woman to stay with him, he regretted it soon after, and she knew it was a hard thing for him to do.

"Damon, I-" She stuttered; she really had no idea what to say to him. Of course, she enjoyed staying there, with Damon, but moving in with him, she was sure it wasn't a good idea. She was growing too attached to him, it was hard not to miss him when he was at the office and she had to stay home and moving in with him would only make things worse.

"It's fine, Elena, you can say it. You don't want to live here. I get it. No one would like to stay with me." His words made her sad and she wanted to tell him she does want to stay with him forever, but she was afraid that this would only lead to her feeling something more for him than she already did. He had no idea how hard it was for her not to give in to the feelings and let her heart lead her.

"No, Damon, it's not that. I'm not ready to move in with someone. It's not you; I couldn't live with anyone at the moment, not even with Caroline. This last month, with you, it was amazing, don't get me wrong. You took such good care of me. But right now, I need to go home. You have to have your own space. You don't see it now, but after a while you'll get bored of me and this thing that we have, it will probably be over." She didn't want to go there, she wanted to think that what they had it will last forever, but it was such a foolish thing to think about it. Elena had no right to think about staying with him forever.

"Some other woman will take my place and I don't want us to reach the moment when you tell me I have to move out because there's some other girl you want to move in with you." Elena looked at him as he ran a hand through his damp hair, watching as he digested her words.

"Elena, I wouldn't ask some other girl to move in with me. I care about you in a way that I haven't cared about anyone else. You're my best friend, of course I want you here with me. But I get that you have to go on with your own life. Don't let me slow you down."

Right now, she wanted to cry so badly, because she wanted to tell him that in fact, all she wanted was to live with him, but she was afraid; afraid for her heart, afraid to get hurt all over again. Because if she let herself fall for him, she would only get her heart shattered into a million pieces. Damon wasn't able to fall in love again; Katherine ruined him for her and for any other woman.

Everytime she slept with him, she put her heart first and even if her head told her not to do it, not to let her feel something more for him, she felt like she sank deeper and deeper into this turmoil of feelings and emotions towards him. And the only thing he wanted was her friendship. _You're my best friend..._

"You're not slowing me down. In fact, you've helped me when I needed it the most. My life is already on pause; I keep moving backwards, instead of moving forward like I should do. I can't write, I can't work properly. Hell, I can't even cook an omelette. So whatever you think you're doing wrong by me, Damon, you should reconsider it, because you're totally wrong by thinking that." She muttered as she fidgeted with her fingers in her lap, not being able to look into his eyes, because she knew that if she did, she would see the determination in them and she would let him convince her to do whatever he wanted her to. Damon nodded shortly and next thing she knew, he was sitting next to her, on the sofa, kissing her like there was no tomorrow.

Her hands traveled up and down his chest and they stopped when she cupped his face. He buried his fingers into her satin-like hair, while his lips moved feverishly against hers. Elena broke the kiss when she felt she couldn't breathe anymore and right after that, the sound of the bell startled her and she looked at the door intently. She moved to grab her crutches, but when Damon was up and moving to open the door, she gave up on the idea and instead sank further into the couch. Her lips were swollen from their heated kiss, but she didn't mind it; it was only a reminder that he was really in her life.

"Hey." The petite brunette said as she approached Elena and sat on the couch next to her, embracing her. She missed her so much. Of course, she saw her almost everyday and if not, they talked everyday, but it wasn't the same as with Caroline, who was her constant stalker.

"Hey Bon. How are you?"

"Walking on sunshine. How are you feeling, 'Lena?" She asked, smiling widely at Elena as she pulled some packages from her enormous bag. "I brought you some Hershey Bars and Jelly Bears. They're your favorites."

"Thank you Bon. I haven't had those in years. It's like I forgot I love them." Elena squeaked happily and she pulled Bonnie into a tight hug.

"How are you, Damon?" Bonnie asked, looking over to Damon, who was grabbing some of the folders and papers from the table.

"Great, Bonnie, thanks. I'm going to leave you guys to it, then. I have some stuff to work on." He said and with that, he turned around and walked into his study, leaving Elena and Bonnie in the living room that was the size of her apartment.

"Thank God!" Elena let out a sigh of relief as he finally left the room. If she would've stayed in his presence for a few more minutes, she would've agreed with his proposal and not think about the consequences of it.

"Thank God for what?" Bonnie asked and Elena shook her head, still amazed by what happened just a few minutes ago.

"Damon just asked me to move in with him. Like forever, or something like that." Elena said and looked at Bonnie who opened her mouth in shock.

"He did what?!" Elena just nodded her head at Bonnie's reaction, knowing that she wasn't able to say more.

"He said that he cares about me that much that he can't stand the thought of being away from me. I don't know, Bonnie. You know how I feel about him. I care so much and since we, well, you know, since we made that deal, it's even harder to keep my promise not to feel something more than affection towards him. He doesn't make it easy on me, Bon." Elena sighed. She was so messed up right now, she wasn't a good influence for anybody. And just like that, she felt a necessary urge to go home right now, but she couldn't. She had to stay her at least one more week.

"Oh, Elena, you're going down, sweetie. You have to stop this, whatever you two are doing, before you get hurt. And this time, you're not going to heal as fast as you did with Dylan. Damon's not him; he's so much more dangerous." Bonnie said and Elena knew she was right. Her friend was totally right, like Caroline had been all along. She had to stop whatever she was doing with Damon as soon as possible, otherwise her heart would die in the process. That was it; it was the end of it.

* * *

AN: I'm sure you didn't expect this, huh? Many of you probably want to kill me now, but you'll probably get over it. Drop me a review and tell me your plans for killing me, haha.


	20. One grain of sand

**AN: Hi, folks! So it's been another month and I'm awfully sorry about it, but it was a hard time for me with my exams and some personal problems as well and I just couldn't bring myself to even log in on this and update the story and for that I have to ask you to forgive me. But I've kind of came to my senses and saw a review asking me to come and update and now I felt like doing so. **

**Here it is, a new chapter. It's more of a fill in chapter, that will shape things for what is going to happen in the future chapters. So don't you worry because I'm not letting go of this story; it's not my type to start doing something and then give up on it. Enjoy this chapter and please review, it will make me feel better about posting this. **

_**You have faded my reality like leaves that turn to dust **_

_**Fell asleep inside a fantasy and woke up feeling lost**_

_**Now I'm terrified and restless but I just cannot escape **_

_**I wish you had words to cool this fever that is killing me **_

Elena was playing with her hair as she wrote the final phrase of the chapter. Another one was done. Now, there were about ten more left. In the passed months she was determined to write more, to do more for herself; so she did. She told Damon they had to stop sleeping together, she broke her own heart and then healed it, she broke her promise to never hurt him and she did.

She did all of those things and she regretted just one; that somehow, she managed to push him away. They weren't hanging out anymore. They saw each other everyday at work, but their relationship was strictly professional and it pained her that she had been so cruel. Even Caroline has been asking her to spend more time with her and Stefan. She didn't want to, as she knew Damon was close every time. She couldn't allow herself to get close to him again and once again, to be caught in that trap.

Once was enough, she was sure of that. And there she was now, three months after the day she told him she wanted them to stop whatever sick relationship they had; three months after she had lost one of her best friends. She kept telling herself that it was for the best and somehow, the feeling stopped growing, but they hadn't come back at all. She wondered if she would ever be able to feel just pure plain affection towards him and not something more, something twisted in so many ways.

Caroline had chosen to have her engagement party on the first of May, meaning today. Elena already had chosen the clothes she was going to wear to this event that was going to be at a big, radiant restaurant in the centre. She walked around the house wearing just her underwear, looking for a suitable pair of shoes for her light blue lace dress. It was knee-length and it had a pretty white ribbon at the waist. She slipped on the dress and carefully zipped it up on the side, then looked at the white Louboutins. Yes, Caroline was going to be proud of her elegant look. She pulled her hair into a perfectly arranged bun and applied a fresh coat of mascara and with that, she was ready.

As ready as she was physically, that little she was mentally. She had no idea how she was going to stay around Damon for five hours, sitting next to him as the couple gushed about their dream wedding. It was going to be pure torture.

Without thinking too much about it, Elena headed for the door and took her purse, not bothering to go back and check if she turned off all the lights or the TV. She slowly made her way downstairs and stopped in front of the building, looking for the taxi she requested a few minutes ago. Without too much trouble, she saw the driver waiting for her at the corner of the building and she headed towards the car, as fast as she could.

The ride to the restaurant didn't take long; there wasn't as much traffic as she expected there to be. Instead, when she arrived, she was taken aback from the multitude of cars in the parking lot of the restaurant. She hoped those people weren't there only for Caroline, because she told her there were only some friends of hers coming and Stefan, Damon, Giuseppe and herself. But in the last minute, she called Elena and told her that Giuseppe couldn't make it. To be honest, Elena was glad he wouldn't be there. She didn't know how, but she managed to avoid meeting him all this time. And if she had to have him in front of her now, she would've had a hard time to manage her fury and not choke him with her bare hands for hurting his own son.

She strolled down the long hallway and opened the doors to the big hall, that was full of people. She spotted the table reserved for Caroline and Stefan just as a waitress walked towards them with a tray full of drinks. Elena made her way to the table and her legs softened when she saw Damon appear from the corner; she had seen him everyday at work, but seeing him like this, dressed in a perfectly dark gray suit with a white shirt and without a tie, with the first two buttons opened to allow the curious eyes to take a peak at him was more than simply affecting her. She had to swallow the lump that was forming in her throat at the sight of him and continued her walk towards the table.

"Good evening." She said and smiled sweetly at the people gathered there for Caroline and Stefan. Damon's head snapped up when she spoke and their eyes locked for a moment and when the people responded, she wasn't paying attention; she was drowning in the blue ocean of his eyes.

"Good evening, Damon."

"Elena." He simply nodded and took his place next to his brother and she sat opposite him, next to Caroline, who stopped talking to the others and turned to her.

"Elena, you look gorgeous. You're going to hook all of the men at my wedding." She blushed as her friend was complimenting her on her good choice of clothes and she looked at Damon, who was engaged in a conversation with one of his associates, that was also a friend of Stefan's.

Elena looked down at the plate that the waitress just brought her and she realized that she wasn't hungry at all; maybe it was all the people making her nervous or the fact that Damon didn't even ask her how she was. As everyone was eating their food, she pulled out her phone and messaged Bonnie, who was on the other side of the table.

_'Bon, what do I do? He's not even looking at me.' _Her reply came shortly after she hit the send button.

_'Give him some time, 'Lena.'_

_'It's been three months, Bonnie, and he still doesn't talk to me about anything else but work problems.'_

_'Then talk to him.'_

_'And what do I tell him?'_

_'Just explain him why you ended things.'_

_'Explain what? How I was afraid to fall for him? He'll hate me even more than he already does, Bon. I told him then that this wasn't a good idea, that I wanted to find a man who would love me and I'd love him back.'_

_'Then stick to this. Just pick your words carefully. xx' _ Elena sighed and put her phone back into her purse. She looked over to Damon who was sipping from his eternal glass of bourbon and laughing with...a woman. When the hell did she land in the chair next to him?Just earlier there was someone she knew from the office there and now there was this girl and they seemed to know each other, because Damon was whispering in her ear and she was laughing out loud.

Elena felt her blood boiling inside her body and she had to do something to stop whatever was happening between Damon and that woman. She sat up and made the three steps necessary to get to him and carefully slipped her tiny hand on his shoulder.

"May I have a word with you, Damon?" His head turned in her direction and she had to put her hand on his chair because the look he was giving her was turning her legs into jelly.

"I'm kind of busy right now, Elena. Can it wait?"

"Actually, I'm about to leave but I wanted to talk to you first." She said and when he stood up she made her way into the restrooms, having him after her.

"What's so important that you had to make me follow you into the bathroom?" Damon asked and looked at her, raising a brow. He seemed impatient to go back to his friend and she was raging with fury as she thought about them together.

"Damon, it's been three months since you and I-well, since you and I had that talk. And not once have you called me to ask how I am, or if I want to go out. You've kept it professional and it's not fair, Damon." Elena said, trying to make him see that just because she stopped whatever twisted relationship they had, their friendship didn't have to end.

"But it is pretty fair, Elena. It's best if we see each other just at work and keep our relationship professional."

"Well, did you even ask yourself what I want?" She snapped and he looked at her like he didn't understand what she meant.

"_What_?" Damon asked, running a hand through his hair, like he used to do every time he was nervous.

"Don't do this now. Don't pretend you don't understand what I'm saying to you. I miss you, Damon. And I don't want our friendship to end because we couldn't pull the friends-with-benefits thing off." Elena pleaded for him to say something, to agree with her, but it seemed like either he didn't care about her anymore or he was just stunned. "Damon?"

"You're incredible, Elena. First, you tell me that you can't do this anymore, that you want to find someone to spend your life with and just when I get used to the fact that I can't hang out with you anymore, you tell me you miss me. I can't believe you!" Damon laughed sarcastically and tears started to prick her eyes. Why was he so mean to her? Or was he...did he have some sort of relationship with that girl from the table? They seemed to get along just fine.

No! She had to do something; she couldn't just lose him, or worse, watch him fall in love with someone else. She was done fighting the feelings she had towards him. Elena was sure that being with him was the biggest mistake she could have ever done, bigger than the fact that they slept together just for the fun of it. It was time she had something of her own, because she fought for it, because she wanted it. And she wanted Damon. She wanted as much as he could give her. And if he could only give her his friendship, she would take it, but she would not, under any circumstances, watch him fall for another person and do nothing about it.

"I'm sorry, I know I don't have the right to ask you for this. But I miss my friend."

"I think it's kind of late for that now, Elena." Damon whispered and she was doing everything in her power not to start to cry.

"So that's it? You're just going to go back to that table and pretend you don't know me? You're just going to go and sleep with that girl you've been talking to this whole time? Are you going to tell her the same things you said to me, Damon?" She snapped and this time she didn't cover her tears.

"What are you talking about, Elena?"

"I'm talking about that girl you were talking to earlier."

"I don't think that's any of your business." He said and turned around, leaving her alone.

As soon as she returned from the restrooms she was scooped in someone's arms and when she looked back at the man, she saw Alaric grinning at her and she was relieved that it was someone she knew. And he was Damon's best friend. She smiled back weakly at him and some wrinkles appeared on his forehead as they moved on to the song.

"What's up, Elena?"

"Damon hates me." She sighed and looked over Alaric's shoulder to see Damon dancing with that mysterious woman; and he was grinning like the Cheshire Cat at her. She felt jealousy rumbling through her stomach and tore her eyes away to look at Alaric. "I'm sure he told you about our special relationship."

"Yes, he did and he also told me that it's over. Isn't it?" Alaric asked and he seemed not to notice his friend over on the dance floor.

"It is. But once it was gone, so was our friendship. I really miss him, Ric."

"He'll come along, 'Lena. Damon has a hard time letting people in, mostly because of how his father treated him all his life and then there was the shit Katherine pulled on him. And when he does let someone in, it means he trusts them with his life and he cares about them." As his words got to her ears, the truth sank in; she had hurt him too. She swore she would never hurt him, and she did. She had to do anything she could to get him back and to show him she really cared about him.

"And I did something horrible." She nodded and looked at Damon, who was swaying on the dance floor. She never got a chance to dance with him again, since that night at the club, several months ago. They never tangoed, and they never waltzed.

"I'm sure he's going to come along. Now, watch out, 'Lena!" Alaric said and she frowned, not knowing the meaning of his last words. And just when she was about to ask him what he meant, she was twirled around and in a matter of seconds, surely inevitable, she ended up in the strong arms of a blue eyed man. Her breath hitched as his cold eyes mirrored her, probably trying to figure out how to escape her as soon as possible.

She didn't say anything. For a while, she just let herself enjoy the dance with him. They waltzed around like they were the only people in the room. His left hand was positioned on the small of her back and the other one was interlocked with hers, as she rested her other hand on the back of his neck, slowly caressing the tips of his hair. She pushed her hips forward to melt with his and for a moment, he let himself get caught in the moment, but the other, he pulled away.

"What are you doing, Elena?" He requested, his gaze cold.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." She excused herself, but inwardly pulled a smile on her face. She still managed to bother him, he was still responding to her touches. While he stood there, somewhere between speechless and frozen, Elena noticed the girl from earlier lazily making her way towards them; towards _Damon._

Elena's hand snapped up and grabbed hold of his. She knew what she had to do. It was clearer for her now more than ever. With tears pricking her eyes, she caressed the back of his hand and looked him in the eyes. She tried to hold back the tears and somehow managed to do it.

"Don't go home with her." She breathed out and she wasn't sure, but she thought that he stopped breathing for a slight moment while her words got to him. He frowned and she shook her head at the lack of information she was offering him. "If you've ever cared about me, at least for a little, don't leave with her, please." She practically begged him and he turned around to look at the woman who was smiling as she walked towards him.

She only had to hope that he would take her plea seriously and he wouldn't sleep with that girl, because if he would, her efforts would be in vain. She stood up on her toes and gently pressed her lips against his cheek. Elena turned on her heels and not saying anything else, hurried to get out of there. She walked out of the building and found a cab, instructing the driver on how to get her home. If she wanted to get Damon back, she had to move, and fast.

She stormed into her little apartment and not even bothering to get out of her shoes or anything, she walked into the bedroom and pulled out the huge suitcase from under the bed. She took her time lumping all her clothes inside the suitcase, careful not to crumple them all. As soon as she thought she was ready, she walked into the bathroom and started to fill a bag with her products, before deciding she was done.

Walking into the kitchen, she poured herself a glass of water and looked around her little apartment; she would miss it. She remembered wishing so badly to have a place of her own, where it would be just her and her wild thoughts. And now this was going to end. She was going to leave her little world. But at the end of the day, she knew it was for the best. She would find happiness and she would value it more than a house.

Locking her apartment behind her, she put her key in her purse, hoping that she wouldn't use it for a long time. She stopped in front of the building and looked around; the Brooklyn dream was over for her. Now, it was time for another dream to rise and she wasn't thinking about the money. No, not at all. She was dreaming of joy and peace for her soul. Elena climbed in the back of the car and waited for the driver to put her luggage in the trunk, then told him where she wanted to go. He nodded and didn't ask for anything else during the drive.

Elena looked out the window as the car moved past the little buildings in Brooklyn and then, out of nowhere, she was in Manhattan. She shook her head, somehow disappointed about how different the two neighborhoods could be. Like two different worlds that collided at some point. The point that intersected the worlds for her was Damon. And that was why she didn't regret making this decision. She could only hope her dreams wouldn't be shattered into a million pieces.

She grabbed hold of her things and entered the enormous building, this time on her feet. She looked around and recognized the guards but her gaze wandered to the girl at the reception. Luckily, it was still the same person from a few months ago. Elena walked over to her and smiled sweetly.

"Miss Katherine, what a surprise." The girl said before Elena could open her mouth to say anything. This was not happening right now! Elena wanted to slap herself so she could wake up from this nightmare of looking like that cold hearted bitch.

"No. I'm Elena." She mumbled, the smile she had on her lips earlier disappearing in that moment.

"Miss Gilbert, I'm so sorry for mistaking you with Katherine. I'm so tired that I can't even see straight right now." The young woman apologized and Elena only nodded her head in response.

"Is he here?" Elena asked and she was sure the girl knew who was she talking about.

"He just arrived half an hour ago. Do you want me to call and announce you?"

"No!" She hurried to say. "I'll find my way up." And with that, she made her way to the elevator.

Minutes later, she was standing in front of the big door that she had come to recognize even in her sleep. Taking a deep breath, she knocked and hoped that she would be heard. The door was soon opened and she let her suitcase fall to the floor. That was it; the moment she had mentally prepared herself for for a long time but never thought it would be true.

"I'm ready."

* * *

**AN: If you've come this far as to read this note, it means that you're probably going to leave a review for me as well, right? Right?**


	21. Lucky

AN: I think you can say this is one hell of a chapter. At least it was for me when I wrote it. Now I'm not going to say much about it. Just enjoy it. And review pretty please!

_**I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend**_

_**Lucky to have been where I have been**_

_**Lucky to be coming home again**_

Elena paced around the room, trying to figure out what she should wear to the office today. She opened the closed and looked at the pile of clothes inside and she still thought that she had nothing to wear. Eventually, after a few more minutes in front of the massive closet, she chose to wear a grey short, a-line skirt, one that she received from Caroline, of course and a white shirt.

She turned around and walked to the mirror in the corner of the room; she pulled her hair into a bun and then stared at her face. For the first time, there weren't dried tears staining her cheeks, or sad eyes, or black circles. Her face was radiating with joy, like the rest of her body. Elena glanced back at the bed and looked at the man she loved; yes, she loved him, more than she loved anyone in her life and she wasn't going to let anything or anyone take that away from her.

Her life had transformed in barely eight hours and just thinking about the previous night brightened the ever-present smile on her face.

_"I'm ready."_

_Elena stood there, face to face with the man she craved so much these last months. She was ready to start a new life with him, to give up on the ideas she had fixated in her head. And as she looked at him, she noticed his blue eyes shimmering with something she couldn't put her finger on; could've been hurt, could've been hate, could've been everything but what she wanted it to be. Love. _

_"Say something." She begged and he did nothing. He stood there, in the doorway, frozen on the spot and she couldn't help but think that he didn't want to hear from her again. The feeling was so foreign to her and still it started to hurt like a bitch to know that the man she wanted could possibly despise her. Eventually, Damon moved to the left and signaled with his head to come inside. She hoisted up the enormous suitcase and pulled it along. She dumped it near the door as she sat on the big black leather couch she has spent so many days on just a few months ago. It felt like it was just yesterday when she was there, with the light on, reading a book and having tea, waiting for Damon to come home from work. _

_She peeked at him through her lashes. He was gorgeous, wearing nothing other than the towel wrapped around his waist; his hair was damp and there were still drops of water on his chest. She wondered if he made it a habit to answer the door like that. Maybe he was waiting for someone, although she secretly hoped he wasn't. She didn't want to see that chestnut haired girl walk through that door and hug him and kiss him and...ugh! Just the thought made her nauseous. _

_"What are you doing here, Elena?" Damon asked, moving closer to her. The distance could still be measured in meters, but she could already smell his body wash. She blushed at the memory of her using his bath products when she didn't have her own. She remembered imagining and wanting him to be there, in the shower, with her, rubbing her back and kissing her neck. _

_"You still with me?" Damon asked, waving a hand in front of her face and she suddenly moved her gaze to him and pushed away the indecent thoughts. She took a deep breath and calculated her words before starting to talk. _

_"Three months ago you asked me to stay with you. And I said no." Elena said, thinking what these words would do to him._

_"Oh, I remember what you said." _

_"I was an idiot. Just like I was with Dylan when he proposed to me. If I keep living my life like this, I'll be alone forever, and I don't want that. Everybody who said it's best to have someone with you than having no one is right. I don't like being alone." She confessed and leaned forward to be as close to him as possible as she tried to look into his eyes and decipher what he was thinking. _

_"So what are you saying? That you should've married him, or what?" Damon asked and it seemed like his interest had finally been pricked. _

_"No! I didn't want to marry him. I mean, I did, but I wasn't ready. Just like I wasn't when you asked me to move in with you. But I am now. I want to move in with you Damon. I mean, if you still want me to." She said in a low voice and he raised his eyebrows in surprise. _

_"Are you serious?"_

_"Yes. Why, you don't believe me? Or...did you? Oh god, I'm so stupid. I'm sorry for bothering you Damon. You clearly have someone over and I don't want to interrupt." She stood up and started to walk quickly towards the door. She was such a fool to come to him; she should've known that he wouldn't listen to her and that he went home with that klutz. Why was this always happening to her? Why did she always pick the wrong persons? _

_"Elena, wait! What are you talking about?" He frowned, clearly not knowing what she meant. _

_"I'm talking about the fact that you've never cared about me, Damon. I've practically begged you not to go home with that girl you were with and you did. She's here, isn't she?" Tears started to prick her eyes and she didn't bother to hide them. _

_"You mean Andie? Because no, she's not here. I'm alone here." Damon said. So the girl had a name; Andie._

_"Oh." She stopped in the middle of the room and stared at him. She felt like she was Icarus, who was flying too close to the sun and when she would get to him, she would burn and not get to enjoy it. She was afraid that if she made that step towards him, he would tell her he didn't want her anymore. _

_She could feel the atmosphere charging with tension as they stood there, looking at each other, silently. Elena lost count of the minutes. Could've been hours, but she wasn't sure; she didn't know anything for certain at that moment. She just knew that she was face to face with Damon, so close again after all those months, and she wasn't saying anything. _

_"You should know that...I miss you, Damon. So much." Elena finally admitted and she couldn't move when she saw him coming towards her, taking that one big step and stopping in front of her. _

_He cupped her face and she automatically wrapped her arms around his midsection. His lips lowered to hers and for the first time in those three months, she felt alive again; she was kissing him with all that she had. And she felt like he was doing the same. His lips were pressed against hers and his tongue dipped into her mouth excruciatingly slow and painful, like he wanted to punish her for what she did. _

_She moaned into his mouth when she felt she couldn't breathe anymore. She needed air, but she thought that she needed his kisses more than air. So she raised her hands to run her fingers through his velvet-like hair and she knew this was what it was like to feel desire for someone; and she had never felt it in her life. All those times she thought she wanted to sleep with her high school boyfriend or all the times she has slept with Dylan, they weren't like this. They weren't able to make her shiver and make her skin tingle from just one kiss. _

_"Does this mean forgive me?"_

_"It means that...you...gotta shut up...and let me make love to you." He breathed out while he tried to catch his breath as well. Her heart skipped a beat at his words; he never said make love to her before. _

_He was soon kissing her, feverishly, passionately and she put every part of her into that kiss. Elena didn't even feel Damon push her against the nearest wall and lift her up so she could wrap her legs around him. His kisses were intoxicating and right then there were all she needed to keep living. _

_As he spooned her from behind and carried her to the enormous bed in his bedroom, she giggled like a little girl. She opened her eyes and looked around; she had a few special memories from this bedroom. They'd spent hours and hours in that bed, having sex, talking, cuddling while sleeping, or simply watching TV. _

_Before she could make her move, Damon was hovering over her. He was struggling to get her out of her dress. She lifted her hips up so he could roll the material off her body and when he finally did, he unclasped her bra and threw it across the room along with her dress. _

_He purred and scooted down her body, placing gentle, wet kisses along her collarbone, before meandering his way to her breasts. _

_"Perfect." He breathed out as cupped one perfectly round breast into his hand, teasing her nipple as he did so. She moaned into his mouth and he just took it as a sign to continue with his teasing and his head moved down on her body and soon he was kissing her stomach and she felt her insides clenching. _

_Her fingers dug into his hair, holding him there, as close to her as possible, because she didn't know if he would still be there the next day._

_His hands cupped her face as he captured her lips again and when he felt the wetness of her cheeks, he pulled his mouth away from hers and he looked at her with eyes filled with shock. _

_"Elena? Are you okay?"_

_"Will you still be here tomorrow?" She asked with trembling voice and the next second his lips touched hers for a briefly yet suave kiss. _

_"Of course. Where would I be?" She nodded shortly and smiled warmly, radiating all the happiness she felt in that moment. _

_"Then yes, I'm as okay as I can be."_

_Elena's hands went helplessly to his head, curling into his soft, dark locks and holding on for dear life as he slid a finger inside her and began to move it in and out, faster and harder. She let out a scream followed by his name as he kissed her thighs and she let her orgasm rip through her body while he paid homage to her body. _

_"Damon, please..." She begged and his head snapped up, his shining blue eyes locked with her chocolate brown ones. Her tummy was shaking with desire and some other foreign feelings . When the last electric after shock of ecstasy had finally zinged its way through her central nervous system, Elena, exhausted from the violence of her orgasm, fell back on the bed, chest heaving from exertion. She brushed the sweaty locks of hair that clung to her face and blew out a long, satisfied breath as her body fell into a semi-comatose state of absolute euphoria._

_His fingers teased her skin as they moved down to her thighs and stopped there. He positioned himself at her entrance and slowly pushed into her. Her walls slowly accommodated his size and then the electric shocks and fireworks started all over again as he rocked his hips together with hers into a perfectly motioned rhythm. She couldn't ask for anything else; all she wanted was here, in her arms. _

_Damon's movements were rapid, like their lives depended on it. Elena's nails dug into his pectoral muscles as he crashed their lips together, planting a kiss that made Elena's control snap immediately. Her second orgasm was excruciatingly powerful, surely the best one in her whole life. It didn't take long until he followed her and called her name out loud as he poured himself into her. _

_As they held each other, bodies still shaking and shivering, Elena pressed a tender kiss to his lips and rested her head in the crook of his neck. One thing she was sure of was that she wouldn't be able to fall asleep for a long time after the turmoil of emotions she has just experienced. Elena looked at him and smiled as she watched his eyelids drooping and then finally falling over his perfectly blue eyes. That moment, she knew he was asleep and finally wasn't tortured about bad memories. She looked at him and it hit her like a hard rocket; all those feeling she had for him, that were so strong and so heartbreaking at some times. She now had a name for them. She looked at him and whispered something that she hoped she would be able to confess to him when he was awake; that something that she hoped she would hear back from him. _

_"I love you." _

She loved him. She saw it clear as day. Everything she did, she did out of love for him. Her running away had been her body's last effort from taking this plunge. But it was a useless battle because there she was, back in his apartment, in his room, in his bed, thinking about what to wear to work.

She slowly walked to the bed and sat on the edge of it. Elena extended her hand and caressed his face. She looked at the clock on the nightstand and it indicated that it was 8:30 in the morning. They had-or better, she had-to be at the office at 9. At that pace, she would never be able to make it. But at the same time, she didn't want to leave without saying good morning to him or kissing him.

"Damon, it's time to wake up." She chirped and as he started to shift in the bed, his arms encircled her waist and pulled her down, above him. "Damon, no!" She giggled as he started to tickle her.

"Ticklish?" He asked in his hoarse morning voice.

"Very. Now stop, please. We're running late." She said and quickly pecked him on the lips, but he only shrugged indifferently and deepened his kiss, sending shivers down her spine.

"If you want, we can stay at home today." Damon mumbled between kisses and she wished they could just stay in bed, making love for the rest of their lives, but it wasn't that easy and she knew it. She cupped his face and looked into his eyes; they were so compelling that she still felt like she was struck by lightning when she looked into them. She wished she could just tell him how much she loved him, but she couldn't.

"Get up." She whispered and pressed her lips against his in a searing kiss, then she made her way out of the bed and looked at him as he lazily stood up and walked to the bathroom. He was so oblivious to the fact that he was naked that it amazed her.

"Come here." Damon called out for her and she could hear the water running. She walked into the bathroom and looked at him while he showered. She remembered that a few months ago she ended up in her bathroom, staring at him naked and wishing she could touch him and feel every inch of his skin. Now, all of those wishes were still present inside her and she wished he would knew how she truly felt about him.

"Shower with me?"

"I've already showered Damon. Plus, we're running out of time. At this rate, we're going to get to the office when everyone else is leaving."

"So you're not coming to say hi to little Damon?" She noticed his brows waggling and she found it hard to resist the urge to run into the shower and forget all about work.

"Cocky much, aren't you Salvatore?" She playfully tapped her foot against the black marble floor.

An hour later, Damon parked the car in his personal parking spot at the office and soon, they were walking thru the entrance. Damon got closer to her and she reluctantly put her arm around him, but he just shrugged it off and instead interlocked his fingers with hers. The move shocked Elena and she wanted to scream and cry with happiness. He was holding her hand.

They walked like that into the building and she couldn't stop herself from smiling like an idiot. Also, she noticed the look on the receptionist's face and she wanted to rub it in her face that Damon was hers. She didn't know why, but since she started her relationship with Damon, she acted like a bitch; at least that was what she thought. She just wanted everybody else to know that he was hers, and not available for other woman to sleep with. But if she thought better about it, she realized she couldn't say that out loud because he wasn't her boyfriend. They were just friends with benefits; at least for now.

"I'll need you to help me out with a new project. I'll explain it all a little bit later, after I get more information from Stefan, okay?" Damon said, his arm hanging lazily on her hip.

"Sure." It was all she was able to say and the next moment she felt his warm lips against hers, molding together like they always did. She allowed her thoughts to fly freely and her heart to skip another beat as he kissed her; they were at the office and he was kissing her. Even if there was no one present to see them, she still felt like she was in 7th heaven because it gave her hope that he felt more for her.

"Well, well, look what we have here."

They both automatically pulled away but stood at each other's side as they turned around. Of course it had to be her.

"First is a good luck, second is a coincidence but third's a charm. What the _fuck_ are you doing here, Katherine?" Damon snapped and for the first time since she knew him, Elena knew he was utterly disturbed by Katherine and not in the romantic way, but in the literal one.

"Oh, but lover, don't be so bitter." She spat out and Elena was looking at the scene in front of her eyes, trying to imagine that it wasn't really happening.

"I am _not_ your _lover_. Care to tell why you're in _my_ building? Or no...it would be better if you'd just get out."

"Why? So you can fuck that whore who's following you like a lost puppy?" Katherine smirked devilishly but she didn't know that that was the last thing Elena was going to endure. She stepped forward and without thinking about it twice, she angrily slapped Katherine, looking at her shocked face and then turned to Damon and slightly shook her head to express her regret for putting him in this situation. His face was blank, emotionless and she wondered if she did wrong by putting Katherine in her place. But this wasn't just about Damon anymore. It was the second time Katherine had offended her and she wasn't going to take it again.

"My life and my actions are none of your business, Katherine. So leave me alone!" Elena spit through gritted teeth and watched Katherine's face filling with anger and her eyes flashing madly at her.

"You're going to regret this." She mumbled, her left cheek reddening and Elena's handprint slowly appeared on it.

"You asked for it, Katherine." Damon simply stated and he shrugged indifferently as he did so.

"Why are you defending her, Damon? You love me, you've always loved me." Katherine said and for a moment, Elena thought she would cry. How pathetic could she be? She was practically begging for him to love her.

"I _loved _you. Past tense. Elena is _my girlfriend _and you are going to stay away from us!" Damon raised his voice and Elena's gaze caught his and he slowly stroked her hand. He called her his girlfriend. She knew he didn't mean it, but she still couldn't stop thinking there was at least a tiny bit of truth in that statement. She prayed there was.

"You really think I believe that, Damon?"

"I don't really care what you think, Katherine. Just tell me what are you doing here and then get out." He requested and she smirked again and it was like she had no emotions. Elena would've broke in a million pieces by now if he would've said that to her.

"I'm here for a commercial. They wanted me to do it." Damon's face turned into something Elena didn't recognize at first but then she realized he was laughing. He was laughing like he was really enjoying making fun of Katherine. She almost burst into a fit of giggles as well, but when she was about to do it, Damon spoke again.

"Oh, Kath, Kath. Do you really think I'd allow you to be a model for my company? Are you really so naïve to think that?" He spoke between fits of laughter and this time Katherine lost her smile and instead looked at him with surprise.

"What are you saying? It's been years since I've modeled for this company. You can't kick me out!"

"Watch me!" Damon smirked and Elena's inner self was hugging and kissing him for telling Katherine that she had nothing to do with him anymore.

"Damon, please."

"Go beg your boyfriends, Katherine and leave me alone. Get out of here!"

Elena didn't say anything else as she watched Katherine move along the corridor, her steps quickening. Elena made her way into her office and just when she was about to close the door, Damon stopped her and followed her inside. She sat on the big leather chair and opened her laptop, but her gaze was focused on him.

"I'm sorry for this situation. I had no idea she was going to be here, I promise." Damon said, leaning forward against her desk.

"Forget about it. I'm sorry for making it worse for you. I just couldn't let her offend me once again."

"Of course not! She had her coming. Though I had no idea you are that feisty." Damon smirked playfully and Elena felt her cheeks flustering.

"Damon?"

"Huh?"

"Why do you keep telling her I'm your girlfriend? What if she finds out we're only friends?" Elena emphasized the last word with sorrow in her voice, because she wanted anything but being just friends with Damon.

"Well, I don't know. It seems that telling her that has kept her away from me for a while. Besides, you're now living with me and, I don't know, it just felt natural to say it. Does it bother you?" Damon asked and her eyes widened at the choice of his words; _natural_. She wished it was like he said.

"Not at all. Just wanted to clear that up." Of course it bothered her; it bothered her that he didn't really considered her his girlfriend, that he was only using her to make his ex-fiancée jealous. It wasn't fair at all to her. But if that was a sacrifice she had to make to gain his love, she was willing to do it. "Now, you were telling me about a new project?"

"Yes. I'm waiting for Stefan to come. He knows all the details. I'll let you know when to join us in my office, okay?" She nodded shortly and he was out the next moment. He didn't say anything else; he didn't touch her, or kiss her. Though she wasn't sure she would've kissed him back after everything that happened.

A few minutes later, Caroline swooped into her office without bothering to knock and sat on the chair in front of her desk, clapping her hands together. Elena could see she was nervous, but she didn't say anything yet, knowing her friend would start to talk soon.

"Those idiots don't have the decorations ready!" She snapped, throwing her purse on Elena's desk and making some papers fly from it. Elena narrowed her eyes and stood up from her chair, collecting the papers from the floor.

"Slow down, Care. When was the deadline for them?" She asked, arranging the papers into a folder so her friend wouldn't do any other damage to her work.

"Today! Can you believe it?"

"Caroline, nothing will happen if they are a few days late. There's a month left to your wedding." Elena tried to explain but it seemed like she just couldn't reason with the blonde. She wasn't taking any argument, instead she was getting angrier.

"Are you kidding me, 'Lena? A few days? That means there's the chance someone else will order the same color and models and this can't happen. My wedding has to be original!" Caroline squeaked, her voice raising a few octaves.

"Okay. Breathe, Caroline, breathe." Elena clasped her friend's hand and tugged at it gently, comforting her. "This is not you right now. You're just so nervous because the time is ticking but everything will be alright, and you know that, right?"

"I don't know, Elena. What if something happens? What if someone else is having their wedding the same day?" Elena tried to hold in her laughter and instead smiled at her friend, who was about to rip her hair out.

"This is New York, Care. There will be at least twenty more weddings the same day as yours. But yours will be the brightest, the most beautiful one, because you're the bride and you've invested so much into this. You deserve to have the perfect wedding, and you will have it, you'll see it." Elena was relieved when Caroline nodded her head, agreeing with Elena.

"I do, right?"

"Yes, you do." She smiled and glanced at her laptop to see if she got any news on the new project.

"So how have you been? How are things with Damon? Is he talking to you?" The blonde requested and Elena sighed because so much had happened since the night before, since the engagement party. Caroline was going to freak out.

"I'm fine, Care. Things are...better."

"Just spill the beans already, 'Lena! I'm dying here."

"There's nothing to spill, actually. We've talked and somehow he doesn't hate me. Which is a good thing, right?"

Elena thought about what Caroline would think and say when she'd find out that she moved in with Damon. But most of all, she wondered what her friend would say when she'd hear that she's in love with Damon. She would most likely freak out and try to convince her to depart to Africa, so she would never see Damon again.

"I couldn't care less." The blonde scoffed and Elena rolled her eyes in exasperation. Why was she talking to Caroline about Damon, again?

"Anyway, he was with someone last night, so..."

"Oh, yeah, Andie. From what Stefan told me, she's Damon's ex-girlfriend. They went to the same college and Stefan said she's still drooling for him, even if she's always coming and going; she's an archaeologist and she travels all around the world and now she's going to be in New York for a month."

"Oh. I had no idea." Suddenly Elena felt betrayed. Damon has brought his ex-girlfriend to that event, being perfectly aware that she was going to be there. Was he trying to make her jealous from the beginning or did he really not care about what she thought? She's have to ask him about that.

And just as Caroline was about to say something else, the door opened and Damon stood in the doorway.

"Hey, can you come into my office? Stefan's here and he's going to talk to us about this mysterious new project."

"Sure, I'll be right there." Elena said and carefully wiped away her tears, not wanting to smear her mascara. She noticed Caroline shooting daggers in his direction but didn't say anything to that.

"Have you been crying?" Damon asked and she looked over to Caroline, who talked first.

"None of your business, Damon." She deadpanned and he frowned, his gaze moving to Elena again. She shrugged and tried to find an explanation that would fit the situation.

"It's nothing, Damon. We were talking about Caroline's wedding. I've always thought we were going to have a double wedding and now that I've realized it's not going to happen, I don't know, I was overwhelmed. Things like this happen when your best friend is getting married. It's normal for me to be so emotional."

"Hm..." He didn't seem too oblivious to Elena's words but that explanation would do for a while, she hoped. In the next minute she was up and walking to the door, with Caroline ahead of her.

"What are your plans for later?" The blonde asked.

"I don't know, Care. I think I'm going home and watching a movie."

"You are such a boring person. You should get out, enjoy the sun. I'll talk to you later, 'Lena." The blonde said and pulled her friend into a warm hug before leaving.

Elena strolled down the corridor and entered Damon's office without bothering to knock. She looked at Stefan, who was pacing the room, seeming pretty nervous and Damon who was sitting on the couch, probably benumbed by his brother.

"What's going on?" She asked as she made her way to the couch and sat next to Damon.

"I don't know, I'm waiting for Stefan to talk." Damon mumbled. "Come on, Stefan, just talk already."

"Are you sure you want me here? I can come back later and-" She started but Stefan raised his hand to stop her.

"No. I mean, I think Damon won't mind if you stay. After all, you just had an argument with the biggest bitch alive." He said and Elena knew who was he talking about. But that wasn't what surprised her; it was his audacity, because she has never seen Stefan so angry.

"So it's about Katherine. Just drop the bomb, Stef and let's move past it." Damon sighed and Elena noticed he looked so bored; and he probably was bored of hearing about Katherine. Elena leaned her head against the edge of the couch, making herself as comfortable as she could for what was coming.

"There's a new project for us; a cosmetic company needs several advertisements, and they want it with one model. Guess who." Stefan ran a hand through his hair, a gesture Elena has seen Damon do a thousand times. She narrowed her eyes, trying to find the edge of the thread there. Damon, instead, jumped from his place and made a step towards his brother, standing face to face with him.

"_She_ is _not_ working with us. With _me_!" Damon sneered through a gritted teeth and Elena understood. Katherine said earlier that she was called because she was a model for his company and now Stefan said something about that factory wanting one model; they wanted Katherine.

"I knew you would say that, Damon. But you should know that there's a lot of money in the game; if you decline this, they are going to end their contract with us."

"I don't care how much money I lose, Katherine will not step foot in this place again. Not while I'm still breathing."

"Then we need to find a solution." Stefan said and his glance wandered to Elena, whose attention was suddenly pricked.

"So what's my part in this? I've had an argument with her, yes, but I have nothing to do with your contracts, guys, it's none of my business." She shrugged, not indifferently, but in a way that showed her little interest in the discussion. She was fed up with Katherine already.

"You're probably going to murder me for this, Elena, but I have no other alternative than this one." Stefan sighed and he seemed utterly ashamed for what he was going to say. Elena understood nothing and Damon seemed confused as well.

"Damon, she can model instead of Katherine. They look almost alike and I'm sure I can come to an agreement with the manager of the factory." Stefan said and looked over to Elena, whose face turned white at the thought. No, she wasn't doing that, no way!

"No way! I'm not replacing Katherine. I understand, or at least try to understand, people confusing me with her but replacing her intentionally? That's not going to happen." She snapped and paced the room. She felt Damon's gaze burning in her back and she turned to look at him.

"Don't you dare ask me to do this, Damon Salvatore!" She pointed her finger at him and Damon just narrowed his eyes, looking at Stefan.

"Chill out, 'Lena, I'm sure we'll find another way."

"There's no other way, brother, trust me. I've tried everything to make some other arrangement with them but they just won't rationalize. I think there's something fishy with Katherine involved. I can't put my finger on it, but they just won't give up on her." Stefan said and Elena thought about it for a second. They were going to lose a lot of money, that was bad. But she couldn't just do it; it would mean losing her dignity and she couldn't do it. But then she would feel guilty knowing she could've done something about it and she didn't. No, but it was insane. She wouldn't do it.

"Then I'll tell them to close the contract. There will be another one, Stefan. I'm sure we'll survive without this one." Damon said, shrugging.

"Fine, it's your choice. But just let me tell you that that sum of money would've covered the salary of the employees for at least five months."

"What?" Damon's jaw dropped and Elena frowned; if he was reacting like this, it meant that it was actually a big sum. She knew that the Salvatores employed over 200 people and they all received a more than decent salary. She shook her head. This was going to be an idiotic way to lose a bunch of money. Not that they didn't have a lot of money, but it was just stupid to give up on such a business.

"Yeah, that was my reaction when I first heard the sum they were offering too. Now you get it?" Stefan pointed out and Elena knew she had no other choice.

"What do I have to do?"

* * *

AN: Well, well. Now that you've read this whole chapter that was longer than the usual ones by the way, leave a review and let me know what you think. Ask and I'll respond.


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